Zip to Zap
As a result of an article that originally appeared in The Spectrum, student newspaper at North Dakota State University (NDSU), that was later picked up by the Associated Press, between 2000 and 3000 people descended upon the small town of Zap, located in Mercer County in the west central part of the state, nearly 300 miles (480 km) from the NDSU campus.
As the small country town's resources became depleted, the amiable mood began to turn ugly and Zap's residents asked the visitors to leave.
College campuses throughout the United States in 1969 were described as being in chaos as many students rebelled against authority and protested the actions of the U.S. in the Vietnam War and the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
The local and national media portrayed this escalation in student protest and resulting violence in a way that may have led some readers and viewers to believe that a cultural, racial and generational "civil war" was taking place.
[2] The National Guard had been called to intervene in over 200 civil disorders relating to the war, racial tensions and other controversial subjects by late 1969.
North Dakota was far away from the centers of the hippie movement on the coasts of the United States, but this did not mean that the local students did not know what was going on with their peers at schools such as UC-Berkeley.
The combination of tension between the students and the established powers, and the local and state governments' lack of experience in dealing with large gatherings of angry and drunk protesters led to the riot that put Zap, North Dakota, across the headlines of the U.S. newspapers and made it the lead story on the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite.
A front-page article in the Spectrum read: Located in the valley of the scenic Knife River, Zap (Zip 58580) has thrown open its arms to students.
The article concluded with what was to become a prophetic statement, "In addition to these events, a full program of orgies, brawls, freakouts, and arrests is being planned.
The temperatures fell below freezing and the drunken college students started a bonfire in the center of town, using wood that was left over from a recent demolition project.
What had started out as a spring break get-together quickly turned into the first (and to date only) official riot in North Dakota state history.
Having been rousted from Zap, the students moved on to nearby Beulah North Dakota in search of a fresh supply of beer and food.
It was also covered by Pravda, the news outlet of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the Stars and Stripes of the United States Armed Forces.
Both NDSU in Fargo and UND in Grand Forks imposed a small surcharge on student fees over several years to repay the townspeople for damages not covered by insurance.
