The Student Union’s Capital Chamber was filled to the brim late Wednesday afternoon, students again seized the opportunity to voice their concerns regarding the proposed tailgating regulations shared Tuesday.
After Tuesday’s town hall meeting, regulation committee members allowed more students to contribute to the discussion by holding a second town hall meeting. An assortment of involved students came armed and ready, noting “logistical issues” with the proposals.
Backtracking to the first night’s discussion, committee member and outgoing Student Government president Andrew Mahtook reiterated the drafted options were simply suggestions and not the final word.
“There’s an extremely viable option that none of these options will even see the light of day,” Mahtook said.
Committee members previously allowed students to electronically record their thoughts on a Campus Labs Respond app. Campus Life’s assistant director for leadership and involvement Kathy Jones, a committee member who led both discussions, said Tuesday’s 1,343 survey response count jumped to 2,700 on Wednesday.
While some students spurred social media conversations using the Twitter hashtag #TailgateTownHall, others voiced different takes on the situation, launching a series of talks that overran the allotted time.
Though Interfraternity Council President and committee member Will Fisher conceded that allowing students to spend the night on the Parade Ground “open[s] up a Pandora’s box of issues,” he said the committee should not let the actions of the few govern the future of the many.
Describing the committee’s rationale for the proposal, Fisher said the University saw three hospital transports last football season because of overconsumption of communal alcohol.
“I don’t think this is about student health,” a law student said from the crowd. “I think this is about money.”
Another student pulled out the LSUPD crime log, questioning a claim made on television by Dean of Students Mari Fuentes-Martin regarding the average number of students sent to the emergency room. According to the student, the highest recorded number was 31 despite Fuentes-Martin’s claim it was 50.
Committee members said they were unsure about the disparity but would look into it.
When asked which students belonged to a student organization, everyone in the room raised their hands. From wakeboarding club members to sorority and fraternity members, the BYOB policy mentioned in Option 3 gained the most traction.
Along with the unanimity of the crowd, a former fraternity president said he believed Option 3 to be the most realistic solution, albeit with a slew of revisions. He expressed concerns of losing the distinctive tailgating culture.
“This is starting to look a lot like what Ole Miss does,” he said.