Student events on campus were disrupted this weekend as a result of the University's decision to move large social functions out of Sayles Hall, event coordinators said. The East Asian Culture Show took a hit in revenue - which the University agreed to compensate - and the first-year Class Coordinating Board chose to cancel a party it had organized instead of moving it from Sayles.
Meanwhile, University administrators sent e-mails Friday to some alums outlining the University's response to last weekend's events, which included Queer Alliance's Sex Power God party Nov. 12 and a melee on the Main Green the night before that ended with shots being fired.
Sex Power God, which was held in Sayles, resulted in a significant number of students requiring emergency medical care and attracted national attention when it was featured on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" Nov. 14.
The party was named after a lecture given on campus in the 1980s.
Last week, University officials moved a Friday night concert by indie-rock band The Wrens from Sayles to Alumnae Hall. To accommodate the change, a party sponsored by El Concilio Latino was moved from Alumnae Hall to Andrews Hall, and the East Asian Cultural Show was relocated to Sayles from Andrews.
Administrators told event coordinators that the shuffle was due to a decision by University officials to prohibit loud parties and other "rowdy" social events in Sayles for the rest of the semester in response to Sex Power God, event coordinators said.
"It was a huge problem," said Michael Kum '06, co-coordinator of the East Asian Cultural Show. He said the last-minute venue change caused the event to lose a significant amount of money because ticket sales dropped and some local sponsors, whose confidence in the event was shaken, withdrew their support.
The venue change also caused logistical problems because event planners knew little about Sayles, Kum said.
Andrew Ahn '08, the event's other co-coordinator, acknowledged the logistical difficulties of the last-minute venue change but said the unexpectedly low revenue from the event could not be attributed entirely to the move.
Ahn said University administrators requested, but did not require, that the cultural show be moved to Sayles. "As opposed to being forced, we were being considerate to other student groups" by moving the show so that all events planned for Friday could be held, Ahn said.
The University agreed to pay all direct costs incurred by the move, $500 to compensate for the possible revenue hit and, as a gesture of gratitude, an additional $4,000 to fund future events, Ahn said.
"The event worked out fine. It was just a lot of stress," he added.
The Freshman Fling, a party originally scheduled for Saturday night in Sayles, was canceled after the first-year CCB was informed last week that the party could no longer be held in Sayles and would have to move to Alumnae Hall, said Robert Smith '09, first-year class president.
Smith said the event's planners ultimately decided to nix the party because the last-minute changes would not be worth the time or money. Another event is being planned by the first-year CCB for next month in Leung Gallery, he added.
Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services David Greene said in an interview Tuesday that Sayles "doesn't work for large-scale parties."
"That is a very important space on campus. There are portraits and ... the organ that are very valuable to the University," Greene said. "It is a good space for speakers, the right kind of dinner and some cultural events, but it is probably not a good venue for large-scale social events. So we have to identify some additional spaces for students to use for that purpose."
"Student groups often feel a pinch when it comes to social places on campus, and that is something we need to take a good look at," Greene added.
Greene did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment Sunday.
The decision to move some functions out of Sayles is just one part of the University's response to last weekend's events.
A letter from Greene to parents dated Friday outlined four steps, originally reported in Tuesday's Herald, that the University is taking "to learn from and address the problems of this weekend."
Student life deans are investigating student groups that organized last weekend's events, an ad-hoc committee will be created to review social event policies, administrators will review which types of events are suitable to be held in Sayles Hall and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Nancy Barnett of Brown's Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies will lead a review of the University's alcohol policy, Greene wrote.
Barnett's primary area of interest deals with interventions for substance use among adolescents and young adults, particularly following specific alcohol-related critical events. She is a member of the University's Institutional Review Board and the Campus Life Advisory Board and chair of the Campus Life Advisory Board Subcommittee on Alcohol and Other Drugs.
Greene's letter is prominently posted on the Web site of the Office of Campus Life and Student Services. It is not clear if parents were mailed or e-mailed a copy of the letter.
Greene's letter was e-mailed to the approximately 6,000 Brown Alumni Schools Committee volunteers, who represent the University at college fairs and conduct interviews with prospective students, said Jennifer Aitken '96, assistant director of BASC.
