As snow began falling heavily late Monday night, nearly 200 UW-Madison students from the Southeast residence halls initiated a snowball fight near Ogg Hall, catching the attention of passersby and university police.
According to Paul Evans, director of University Housing, the fight occurred between midnight and 1:45 a.m. Katie Muratore, a UW-Madison freshman, witnessed the beginning of the fight from her window.
There were a lot of kids in the yard of Sellery, who were throwing snowballs at each other and there were a few in Ogg's yard."" Muratore said. ""They threw one across the street which is what I think started it.""
The crowd of students caught the attention of onlookers and the UWPD received several calls concerning the students' wellbeing.
""One student was issued a citation '¦ based on his disruptive behavior, but nobody was injured,"" UWPD Sgt. Jason Whitney said.
According to police, faculty and students, there did not seem to be any serious violence in the snowball fight, but precautions were taken to ensure complete safety among students.
""The officers just provided crowd control, keeping people out of the street to protect property and individuals in the area, making sure nobody got hurt,"" Whitney said.
Although the fight seemed harmless, preventing chaos was a priority.
""You don't want it to get out of hand where people get hurt. You also wouldn't want them to take it inside - haul snow in and start having snowball fights inside."" Evans said.
Monday's snowball fight was not the last fight. Tuesday night at approximately 10:30 p.m. over 150 students from both Sellery and Ogg stormed Dayton Street and proceeded to throw snow balls and large portions of ice at each other.
UWPD officers arrived at the scene 20 minutes later and parked their cars in between the two crowds but as of 11:30 p.m. no force of action was taken.
The snowfall led to the university's first Snow Action Day and the city's first snow emergency of the season Tuesday. UW-Madison officials urged UW-Madison students and faculty to take precaution due to heavy daytime snowfall. Residents were also urged to use the Madison Metro bus system.
Though Snow Action Days do not cancel classes, professors are asked to be flexible with students unable to travel safely to attend lecture.
The city's snow emergency will be in effect until at least 7 a.m. Thursday, which implements the alternate side parking rules. Drivers should park on the odd numbered side of the street Wednesday night to allow for efficient snow plowing on roads.
