Joyful UM crowd marks Sox win with bonfire, nudity

ORONO – Hundreds of University of Maine students went on a winning streak of their own late Wednesday night – cheering, dancing, running, with even a few throwing off their clothes to celebrate the Boston Red Sox’s extraordinary 10-3 win over the New York Yankees in the seventh game of the American League Championship Series.

A joyful crowd of 2,500 gathered at the Lord Hall parking lot around a 400-square-foot bonfire that had been set and monitored by the Orono Fire Department.

Some students were noticeably intoxicated, others tossed a half-dozen firecrackers and bottle rockets into the fire, and a few young men pulled off their clothes.

The giant bonfire was lit before the final out in the game’s final inning, serving as a beacon to pull students toward a central location. The free hot dogs, cookies and music helped keep them there, but it was no guarantee that all students would keep their clothes on.

A handful of students adorned only with body paint ran naked around the fire. One male was identified and will have to face the university’s judicial affairs office, according to UM officials.

“We don’t encourage nudity, especially in freezing temperatures,” UM Public Safety Director Noel March said Thursday. “Especially with that large crowd of people, and that proximity to such a large fire.”

No one suffered burns or frostbite on tender skin exposed to the freezing elements, March said, and no arrests were made during the celebration.

“There was cheering, chanting and dancing,” the public safety director said. “There was a high degree of excitement and celebration. You would have thought the University of Maine had won an NCAA Division One championship in hockey.”

University organizations and other agencies, including the Maine State Police and the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department, had planned for a large crowd to pour out of the dormitories regardless of a Red Sox win or loss.

Facilities management staff, student affairs staff, and 20 police officers kept the students mostly in check during the celebration, which was all over and cleaned up by 2 a.m. Thursday.