Prospective diners Alicia Byrdsong (COL ’02) and Beth Feezer (COL ’02) surely noted the presence of five members of the Department of Public Safety as the two hungry freshmen waited for their cards to be swiped at the entrance to the New South dining hall last Friday night. Byrdsong said she “just wanted to eat some food.” Byrdsong was, indeed, eating some food when a flying carrot hit her in the shoulder. These students, and a standing room-only crowd, were present for the [annual post-block party](https://www.thehoya.com/news/gu-block-party-raises-15000-food-fight-follows/) food fight that occurred last Friday night in the New South dining hall, resulting in at least one notable injury. One student, who wished to remain anonymous, said that “this is one awesome tradition.” Brendan Mullen (COL ’02) said that he was not surprised by the fact that the food fight occurred, but was shocked by the “riotous, war-like” atmosphere. He said he knew he was in a war zone when he “felt a rather solid impact on my back, which I later found to be, I think, bean dip.” He immediately went under his table, which was stationed in the center of the cafeteria. According to a number of eye-witnesses, the cafeteria was the site of limited food flingings prior to about 6:30 p.m., with occasional sightings of flying candies and vegetables. Before long, the “situation had snowballed into chaos,” Mullen said. According to David Shick (COL ’01), the timing was right for the food fight and block party. He said that it “was sort of a release between cycles of hard work, due dates, and midterms, and with the `85 to 90 percent’ intoxication rate in the cafeteria, it got out of control.” Jamie Quirk (COL ’02) said that the New South crowd exhibited “mob mentality.” Byrdsong concurred, adding that the severity of the situation increased after she saw “a wrapped fajita thing- maybe a burrito” soar across the cafeteria. Witnesses have placed a great variety of food in the air, including slices of pizza, pieces of cake and cookies, chicken cordon bleu and cod. However, according to the New South menu, it is improbable that cod was involved, because fried flounder was being served on Friday. “If people had been mature enough to keep the thrown food to starches,” Mullen said, “perhaps bagels, breads and unsauced pasta, it would have been a kind of fun experience.” Shick agreed that “there could have been steps taken to prevent it … everyone knows it’s going to happen. … I would have served different foods.” Students, however, threw such “messy foods” as ketchup, salsa, dressing and also beverages. Students also started throwing inedibles, such as trays, plates and utensils, which led the staff to express concerns about safety, according to Director of Food and Beverage Jeannie Quirk. She said that “her main concern was someone getting hurt.” Sgt. Gilbert Bussey of the Department of Public Safety said that no injuries were reported. However, Randy Goldberg (MSB ’00) said his friend Chris Walters (COL ’00) accidentally hit him in the eyebrow with a plastic cup “at point-blank range,” making a cut that required eleven stitches to close. According to Goldberg, DPS was concerned at the time with attempting to quell the rest of the chaos, and “none of the DPS officers saw me.” Goldberg said he went to a friend’s house to clean up before going to the emergency room. In addition, one student, who wished to remain anonymous, admitted hitting a friend in the eye with a hard-boiled egg. “Basically, I shucked an egg and hit him in the head,” he said. The student added that the next day he called his friend, who told him he was not upset. According to witnesses, students were standing and dancing on tables and chairs, pounding tables, chanting, screaming, standing on the tray conveyor belt and juggling. ike Stein (MSB ’02), who had just finished a slice of sausage pizza and a chicken sandwich when the situation escalated, said that he was “shocked and amazed” by the “blatant disregard for others” that was exhibited during the incident that lasted about twenty minutes. He said that “people who go here are privileged and part of the environment that they enjoy is provided by the people at New South, and when they start this, they are making these peoples’ lives harder for a few minutes of ruckus.” Director of Resident Dining Mark Keller said that “we had heard a rumor that there would be food fight, but nothing to this level.” He contacted DPS before the food started flying. According to Bussey, four DPS officers and one sergeant were in the cafeteria during the food fight. “[They were] just trying to keep the peace,” he said. No students were arrested or charged for their role in the food fight. “With so many involved, it is hard to single anyone out,” Bussey said. Keller said that ten names were taken from students who were involved. att Stiles (MSB ’00) added that before the major fighting erupted, DPS officers had asked some students to leave. According to Stiles, “I think maybe one or two” members of his group of about five people were involved in minimal food fighting, whereupon DPS asked them all to leave. Stiles said he and his friends were done eating anyway and exited the cafeteria. Jeannie Quirk and Keller said that the mess was cleared by the staff and management of the dining hall with the help of a number of students who volunteered to help clean the mess. Keller said that he wrote down the names of sixteen of those students. Jeannie Quirk called the efforts of these students “commendable,” and said that they made a positive impression on the staff at the dining hall. Keller also praised the thoughtfulness of these students. On Saturday morning, a sign was posted in the Dining Hall, apologizing for the appearance of the hall. Jeannie Quirk said that they wanted students to know that they did their best to clean it completely, and wanted to apologize to those students who were not involved and were looking for brunch. She said that “some work still needs to be done.” Feezer said that “it was the ultimate irony that they apologized for a mess that we made.” Byrdsong, who was able to escape through the back door before, agreed that “it was kind of ridiculous.” Neither Jeannie Quirk or Keller were able to approximate the cost of the incident, and Quirk said that they will be meeting to estimate this cost, in food and time. Keller said that “I can speak on behalf of the staff and management of Resident Dining, and the situation was embarrassing, scary and not at all how we would expect students to treat their dining hall.” “Why would students do this to their own dining hall?” Jeannie Quirk asked. Shick said that “although it was fun, I feel really bad about what happened.