The Zip to Zap riot of May 9–11, 1969 in Zap, North Dakota, was originally intended as a spring break diversion. As a result of an article that originally appeared in the North Dakota State University's The Spectrum newspaper and was later picked up by the AP, 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 (482 km) from the NDSU campus. The original gathering is sometimes called the Zap Festival. Revelers drank copious quantities of alcohol. 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. Some complied, but others stayed behind. The event became a full-fledged riot. The National Guard was called in and the crowd was dispersed. The Zip to Zap would go down in history as the only official riot in the history of North Dakota that was put down by the National Guard. Background The Zip to Zap was an idea of Chuck Stroup, a student at North Dakota State University in Fargo. Stroup could not afford to attend the more traditional spring break festivities held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Therefore, he came up with the idea of what was to become known as the "Zip to Zap a Grand Festival of Light and Love". Stroup placed an advertisement in the student newspaper at NDSU, The Spectrum. His idea was soon embraced by college students throughout the upper midwest of the United States and states as far away as Texas and Florida, thanks to extensive publicity in various college newspapers and in newspapers throughout the nation over the Associated Press wires. 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. 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 (this would include the Zip to Zap). North Dakota was far away