We would like to clarify the April 7 article about Spring Fling. Earlier this semester, the social committee of the WSA identified two artists they were interested in bringing to campus for Spring Fling. On March 8, members of the social committee met with staff from the offices of Student Activities and Leadership Development and Public Safety and shared the names of the performers and their proposed contracts for the first time. During that meeting, staff conveyed to the student organizers the general security concerns associated with bringing someone of Camron’s popularity to an outdoor event with no ability to manage the size of the crowd. The staff made a commitment to inquire with other colleges where these artists had performed in order to learn about how the events had been managed and what security had been required. Public Safety contacted Middletown Police to develop a plan for event security. We discussed additional concerns regarding the contract language and forwarded these to the University’s legal advisor for review.
After spring break, on March 29, staff again met with the social committee to discuss what had been learned. Based on consultations up to that point it was clear that, at a minimum, there would be significantly higher costs for police and security. Staff continued to seek advice on the contract requirements of the artists and received additional feedback from Public Safety and Middletown Police. By April 6, based on the contractual requirements of the artists and from the information that had been gathered, it had become clear that the only way this event could be safely managed would be if it were moved to the hockey rink in the Freeman Athletic Center, the rain site for previous spring fling shows. However, as we investigated this option further, we found that limited capacity issues, poor acoustics, costs associated with staffing the building and student concern over holding the event in the rink, would make moving the event indoors unworkable. Despite the significant amount of time that was invested by all parties into looking for a way to bring this artist to campus, it was determined that we could not contract with him and provide a safe, well-managed event. We are continuing to work with the social committee to identify another artist for this year’s spring fling.
In planning future spring flings (2007 and after), it will be important for staff to get information about potential artists as soon as possible and well before March. It will also be important to determine early in the year what security considerations can be made (move the event indoors, installing a perimeter fence, additional staffing, etc) and what those costs would be. The Dean’s Office, Student Activities and Leadership Development, and Public Safety are committed to working with student organizers in future years to avoid the problems that arose this spring.
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