Swashbuckling Students Celebrate “Pared-Down” Pirate Party

James Oatis

He/Him

Staff Writer

10/19/24

Despite a hard-fought battle from administration, Sunday continued the tradition of the unsanctioned and controversial Pirate Party. In the leadup to Pirate Party, Plymouth State president Donald Birx announced in an email protective measures including shutting campus down to the public and an increased police presence. Birx said that Pirate Party has “reflected negatively on the university’s reputation as a learning community.” Despite these warnings, by around noon, Mary Lyon Lawn was covered in party goers adorned in pirate gear. “You can’t fucking stop us,” one student said.

On the scene of Pirate Party, Birx’s statements seemed to hold weight. Arrests and detainments were conspicuous and abundant. One individual who tried to run from the police was subdued by 4 officers, and many partiers carrying alcohol were arrested. 

Despite the increase of officers and arrests and campus’s closure to the public, Pirate Party still saw many non-students attend. Partiers chanted “Fuck Keene State,” and a drone recorded the event from an aerial view.

The party continued at Mary Lyon Lawn until around 2:20, when an apparent firecracker went off and the police started moving people off Mary Lyon. In their absence, liquor bottles, beer cans, and even a Trojan condom wrapper littered the lawn.

After the dispersal, Grafton County Sheriff Jeffrey F. Stiegler gave his input on how this year’s Pirate Party went. “For something that is not sanctioned or condoned or wanted here by the people in this region, it has most definitely been pared down,” he said. “I have got to give credit to the local first responders and town government and the administration of the university for making a plan.” Still, Stiegler noted “a problem with public urination,” but overall praised how much calmer this Pirate Party was compared to past events on Russell Street.

With the conclusion of Pirate Party 2024, despite warnings and action from law  enforcement and university administration, Plymouth State students’ Pirate Party tradition appears likely to continue in the future in at least some capacity.