Approximately 40 students attended the Student Association’s ‘Save MayFest’ forum which began at 6 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium.

John Barnhart, SA’s student engagement committee chair, told the audience the reason why the forum was being held months before the actual event, SU Showcase, previously called MayFest.

‘We’re here to flush out the issues that exist and spend the next two months working on solutions,’ Barnhart said.

The name change to SU Showcase, reported by The Daily Orange on Jan. 26, sparked a Facebook event which centered around Thursday nights SA forum. The event listing showed 493 guests planned to attend.

The ‘issues’ at hand became catalysts for heated remarks. The hot topic of the night was Euclid Avenue, and many students had comments and concerns about the parties that take place in the often sunny weather the day has offered in the past.

‘We go to school in a gray, cold, windy hole of New York,’ said Cari Brooke Roberts, a senior public relations major. ‘And when it’s warm, people put on shorts, go outside in the sun, and start drinking.’

Roberts, and students who have a hand in planning MayFest, stressed that the tradition of MayFest is not being thrown away. Rather, Hill Communications, whose members were present at the meeting, is adding activities to the campus that they hope students will want to take part in.

‘We do actually know what we’re talking about,’ said Kathleen Hopkins, a junior public relations major in Hill Communications. ‘We’re working on safe alternatives to bring people away from Euclid, and give an incentive for people to go to MayFest.’

It was clarified that the Euclid parties that take place are not an official part of MayFest, and the university does not recognize them.

Helene Kahn, SA’s chief of staff, tried to make clear that whether or not the Euclid scene holds merit with the university, it is an integral part of the day’s tradition.

‘Alums flock back on this day because this is what they remember,’ Kahn said. ‘It’s going to happen whether it’s a recognized tradition or not.’

When Kahn asked if anything can compete with being outside on a beautiful day and drinking, members of Hill Communications were quick to respond ‘yes.’

Larry Seivert, president of SA, tried to re-focus the often chaotic conversation on the safety issues that come with the party scene.

Darya Rotblat, interim director of the Office of Orientation and Off-Campus Programs, agreed that safety is her priority for MayFest. She said that last year, the 3,000 to 4,000 on Euclid Avenue were spilling onto the streets, and that some almost got hit by cars.

‘We don’t want to see you all get tickets,’ Rotblat said. ‘We want you to celebrate safely, and safety is the concern at this point.’

Throughout the meeting, students also voiced concern that freshmen have a false notion of what MayFest is. One freshman who attended the forum said that if he had to pick between an activity on the Quad, and the ‘crazy time’ on Euclid, he would party on Euclid.

A couple audience members mentioned the high number of high school students that flock to SU for the big day. Sarah Guzzone, a senior public relations major and director of Hill Communications, said students come from as far as New York City to Syracuse for MayFest.

Roberts suggested that student organizations set up booths, much like at Juice Jam in the fall, for high school students, and even SU’s freshmen, to see the involvement opportunities on campus.

Another popular suggestion at the meeting was free food on the Quad.

‘If you have an event like a cookout from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., that’s two hours of less drinking,’ said Omar Salama, an SA assembly member.

Other ideas that surfaced were to have Euclid residents register for their parties in advance, or close down the street completely. Rotblat said the city of Syracuse has stated they will not close the street on April 21.

Kathleen Hopkins of Hill Communications reminded those present at the meeting that on Wednesday, Feb. 18, the official list of scheduled MayFest activities will be released in the Schine Atrium.

Though all the members of Hill Communications made it clear that they wished the meeting had taken place after next Wednesday, Kyle Coleman, a junior policy studies major, tried to sum up the issues at hand.

‘The first is binge drinking, and people are still going to drink,’ Coleman said. ‘The second is event attendance, and people who don’t want to go are not going to go. The only thing that I see is feasible that we can take care of is the traffic issue.’

mequalte@syr.edu

Published on February 12, 2009 at 12:00 pm