Crime Corner: Booze Ban Causes Mass Riots at WSU

Twenty-five years ago, on Sunday, May 3, 1998, a mass party that broke out of control due to an alcohol ban on campus led to several students being arrested and charged at Washington State University (WSU). The incident occurred in an area known as College Hill, just west of the WSU campus, where roughly 200 people rioted during the early morning hours. A WSU ban on on-campus drinking allegedly provoked the riot. In the event, between four and a dozen individuals, along with twenty-three police officers, were injured.

At approximately 12:30 a.m., two police officers, one from WSU and one from Pullman, responded to a car-pedestrian accident report at the intersection of Colorado and A streets in Pullman. However, upon arrival, students attending a nearby keg party began pelting the officers with rocks and beer cans. The officers called for backup and retreated.

The situation escalated as party-goers threw garbage, construction materials, and portable toilets into the street, igniting bonfires. The crowd size was estimated at 500 people, with some claims suggesting it may have reached 2,000. Police initially stayed away, hoping the party would calm down, but when that failed, they returned at approximately 2 a.m.

Many law enforcement officers responded to the riot, including 47 Whitman County officers, 18 Washington state troopers, 18 Moscow, Idaho officers, and ten from Latah County, Idaho. They attempted to disperse the crowd using tear gas, smoke, and water. However, the group retaliated by attacking the officers from all directions for two hours, hurling rocks, beer bottles, signposts, chairs, and pieces of concrete. Allegedly, they cheered whenever an officer was struck and injured. In total, 23 officers sustained injuries, some suffering concussions and broken bones. Several students were also wounded, and three were reportedly arrested. The crowd dispersed at 5:30 a.m.

The property damage resulting from the riot was estimated at $15,000. WSU's policy against on-campus drinking, which included a prohibition of alcohol at fraternity parties, was believed to be the underlying cause of the riot. The university investigated with the help of video footage and photographs taken during the incident, leading to several arrests and disciplinary actions.

WSU investigated 51 students for their involvement in the riot, conducting conduct hearings for 43 of them. Ultimately, three students were expelled, and six received suspensions. Kappa Sigma and Phi Kappa Tau fraternities were found to have planned the keg party on May 2-3, while Sigma Alpha Epsilon contributed kegs without participating in the organization. WSU fined the three fraternities, ordered them to perform community service in August 1998, and placed them on one-year probation.

Approximately fifteen rioters faced twenty-two felony charges, but many were reduced to gross misdemeanors through plea bargains, resulting in 19 convictions. When the college year resumed in August 1998 after the summer break, Pullman police were cautious. They initially used small video cameras with infrared technology to monitor problem areas. In February 1999, they took a different approach by assigning two police officers exclusively to the College Hill beat, aiming to improve relations and understanding between the police and WSU students.

Riots At Washington State University, 1998, Uploaded by Matthew Cipolla