Campus programmers are engineering new ways to market,
advertise and publicize their flagship Sun God Festival to emphasize campus
community and togetherness.
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Related Links Oct. 18, 2007 — "A New Face for Sun God?" Jan. 24, 2008 — "Committee: Sun God Safety Foremost Concern" |
The new direction will steer the annual daylong event away
from traditional student-popular leanings of alcohol consumption and center on
community-building themes. Last year’s festival marked a spike in instances of
unsafe activity; the police department registered higher levels of arrests and
citations, with over half of those relating to nonaffiliates.
Brian Ross, director of campus events for the University
Events Office, said that the size and popularity of Sun God has attracted
attention that, though lively, has at times turned hazardous.
“Student safety is the prime concern,” Ross said last month.
“The direction toward a campus community-building Sun God naturally leads to a
focus on the UCSD student.”
Administrators would also like to hone in on the campus
community, said university spokeswoman Dolores Davies.
“This is an important event that has the potential to help
build community and enhance our students’ affiliation to their colleges and the
university,” she said.
She added that the university would want to see “an event
that protects the health, safety and security of event participants and staff.”
Security is handled through A.S. Programming, which utilizes
a plan that integrates student volunteers, staff, the UCSD Police Department,
private security and facility personnel. In addition, the campus police
department recruits law enforcement professionals from other UC campuses,
Diego
and local law enforcement, Davies said.
After the festival’s 25th anniversary last year, Associate
Vice President of
initiated a universitywide dialogue on the event’s countless operations. The
findings were compiled into a “planning report” that contained input the group
gathered from several campus departments. Many departments voiced alarm over
how the event clashed with the university’s safety and academic missions.
“It is clear … that a thorough evaluation of the festival
was needed,” Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Life Gary R. Ratcliff said.
“The statistics from last year’s festival certainly give pause for concern.”
Ratcliff noted that paramedics responded to 35 medical aid
calls and at least nine people were transported to the hospital. In addition,
he said 50 people were sent to the
Over the past month, the Sun God Planning Committee has
discussed and debated departmental input; the committee’s membership is a
collection of top-level administrators and student politicians, ranging from
Police Chief Orville King to UEO Director Martin Wollesen to
himself.
The members have touched on nearly every facet of the
festival, which included the evening concert’s increasingly unmanageable and
alarming safety concerns, student perception of Sun God and impacts of the
strong non-UCSD presence. The committee wants to take a “line-by-line” approach
to the report, Wollesen said when the committee began its discussions, picking
apart each of the document’s suggestions to evaluate their respective
plausibility.
At last week’s A.S. Council meeting, Vice President of
Student Life Donna Bean said that the committee’s students and administrators
had reached a general agreement on how the festival should be hosted.
could not be reached for comment.
