Massive outdoor drinking party at UAB clogs up roads and trains and causes damage to campus
The Mossos, who did not intervene, describe the illegal party as a "collective shame"
Around 8,000 people have concentrated this Friday night and during the early hours of Saturday morning in a street drinking party on the campus of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, in Cerdanyola del Vallès. The call ran through social networks and spoke of a party at the Faculty of Engineering, but when the young people arrived they saw that there was no music or DJ's and that the party did not exist. Even so, they have celebrated a party with music and alcohol that has lasted until the early hours of the morning.
The event has led to the collapse of the roads leading to the venue and the saturation of the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat train line that stops at Bellaterra station. According to some FGC users on social networks, the wagons were full of young people who were out partying, some of whom were drinking, singing and smoking inside the train. The first trains of the morning still registered a significant number of young people coming from the party returning to Barcelona.
The Mossos moved to the area with several teams to control access and intervene in some of the fights that have been recorded. This operation was developed in collaboration with members of the private security of the university, who were responsible for controlling the development of the party inside the university campus.
As reported by the emergency service, 10 medical assistances have been made, all minor, due to bruises and alcohol poisoning.
The university will study how to avoid macro-meetings
As explained by the University rector, Javier Lafuente, on Radio1, the rectorate learned of the party Friday afternoon and put in place the actions they could: "We tried to close car parks, warned the Mossos and organised the security systems we have at the university".
The director of the Mossos, Pere Ferrer, has said that the macrobotelló at the UAB is a "collective shame" after a year and a half of pandemic. "The shame that we should all feel because thousands of people gather at a party like this, when we are still in pandemic, is not small", said Ferrer. "The accesses were perimetered to prevent more people from entering, but as we did not enter the campus, we have not been able to make identifications of the people who have surely ended up doing some kind of damage", explained the director of the Police. "At half past six in the morning there were no large groups left and it began shortly before midnight", added Ferrer.
This Saturday from 6 in the morning cleaning crews are working on the area to fix the damage and collect the dirt left by young people. "There has been no major damage, but there have been minor ones. For example, a fence has been torn down", he explained, and said that the cost of the damage will not be known until Monday. Lafuente said that the university will study actions to avoid future drinking parties on campus: "We will do everything possible so that it doesn't happen again. We are concerned because we have an open campus with many spaces and it is very difficult to control", Lafuente acknowledged. The celebration of the macro-party at the university coincides with the maintenance of the measures limiting nightlife in Catalonia due to the pandemic during the last weekend of the summer. University classes have been back in session for barely a week.
"Why is there no control on platforms?"
Complaints about the macro-gathering on the UAB campus have already been evident during this past night on the last two FGC trains between Barcelona-Plaça Catalunya and Sabadell (S2), with carriages overflowing with young people to get to the UAB campus. "Friday night. People crushed on the BCN-Sabadell FGC train and many young people who can no longer get on and who are left stranded on the platforms. The next and last one in 45 minutes. Public service?", has denounced a user on Twitter. "Why is there no control on platforms and trains? I just got off the S2 train which looked like a club. There are young people smoking (marijuana), drinking whiskey, singing and shouting. From Plaça de Catalunya to Bellaterra, horrible", said another user, @Annasriii.
There have also been problems in the centre of Bellaterra with many cars parked outside the UAB campus, disturbing the night-time calm of the neighbours. "What are you doing Mossos, don't you have public order units in Bellaterra and UAB? This is crazy, hundreds of young people passing through the inside of houses to get to the drinking party! I don't know where else to call", commented indignant user @mikelpuchol.
In Madrid, more than 25,000 young people gather in the Complutense
The macro-party at the UAB has not been the only one in the early hours of this morning. Around 25,000 people, according to sources of the Municipal Police, have met this Friday in a massive drinking party at the Complutense University of Madrid. The same sources indicate that the University did not previously informed them of the call, so no operation was prepared.
The call for the party ran by WhatsApp. Once the police arrived at the site the young people began to leave, but very slowly because there was no means of transport available at that time.
