Over Spring Weekend, Brown Emergency Medical Services received 29 calls related to alcohol and substance abuse - more than double last year's figure. Still, University officials and students involved in planning the weekend said concerted efforts to more effectively manage events kept the traditionally rambunctious Spring Weekend seemingly tame.
Numbers released by Health Services late Monday show a 55 percent increase in total calls to EMS from last year's Spring Weekend. EMS received a total of 41 calls over the weekend, and 17 students were taken to area hospitals.
"I would say this was not a particularly abnormal Spring Weekend," said Anne Barylich, supervisor for EMS, who was interviewed before Health Services released its statistics late Monday afternoon. Barylich said the University's decision to hire a second ambulance alleviated the need to send some calls to Providence emergency officials. Other EMS volunteers on duty said the weekend did not seem to get out of control, though they believe they received more calls Friday night than on Saturday night.
Though private security firms have staffed Brown Concert Agency shows in past years, the University hired extra security staff for Saturday night's Rage on Wriston as well as other events. There were also more student volunteers, a greater administrative presence on campus and an additional ambulance for Brown's use. Those changes were recommended by the Ad Hoc Committee to Review Social Events Policy and Procedures, which was created to review the University's social events and alcohol policies in the wake of last fall's Sex Power God party.
"Preliminarily, things went very well, especially given the weather," said Director of Student Activities Ricky Gresh. "From our perspective, using the private security firm went very well," he added.
"I had a great time. I thought this was on the calmer end of the Spring Weekends," said Greek Council Chair Meghan Gill '06. "I wonder how much increased staffing and people watching us (factored into it), and how much weather factored into it. Next year, we'll have a better idea of how to run things even more smoothly. We took a lot of precautions that maybe aren't necessary."
Nevertheless, several students reported that Zeta Delta Xi, which hosts SpagFest, a large party featuring spaghetti, garlic bread and alcohol, had difficulty with crowd management. Gresh and members of the co-ed fraternity said DPS officers had to help clear out crowds at one point but that the extra staffing helped keep the party under control.
"I have a lot of issues with the way SpagFest went off. We made an appeal to the administration to start earlier to avoid some pre-gaming," said Gill, who is also Zete's vice president.
Gresh said members of Zete had also asked about a different pricing structure to help avoid pre-gaming but the Student Activities Office never received a specific proposal to act on. "We'll want to revisit some of the policies around SpagFest," Gill said.
Gresh said extra staffing came in handy at a concert by student groups Friday night in List Art Center because an unexpectedly large crowd came out for the event.
"Last year at Rage on Wriston, everybody was holding a red cup and party management wasn't as strong as it could have been. This year, things were very well-organized and student groups did a good job of keeping their alcohol off of Wriston (Quadrangle) and in their houses," Gresh said.
The Department of Public Safety was unable to release a specific crime log, which it said was not yet prepared, but DPS Manager of Special Services Michelle Nuey wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that crimes over Spring Weekend consisted mainly of ID theft and larcenies from unsecured areas.
Gresh said Thursday's concert, headlined by alt-country band Wilco, sold out, while Saturday's show with rapper Common, which was moved to Meehan Auditorium due to weather forecasts, sold about 2,500 tickets. Meehan can accommodate well over 3,000 attendees, though capacity varies depending on how an event is set up. He also said BCA tweaked its sound systems to achieve much better acoustics than in previous years.
Greek Council, the Office of Student Life, the Student Activities Office and an interdepartmental Spring Weekend committee will meet in the coming days to discuss how to improve logistics and safety for next year, Gresh said. In addition, BCA, which organizes concerts on Spring Weekend, will be holding a public forum to discuss how to better allocate its funds.
