This year’s Sun God Festival will employ a new procedure for
admission, swapping last year’s electronic identification system for wristbands
and handstamps. A.S. Programming officials said that the new process
streamlines entrance to the nighttime concert and allows re-entry for the first
time in the event’s history.

Programmers’ new festival design is composed of “five
pillars of Sun God,” according to A.S. Associate Vice President of Programming
Kevin Highland.
The pillars represent a number of thematically organized activities, all
located on RIMAC Field and operated throughout the day. One such site,
tentatively dubbed by programmers as “Sun God Avenue,”
will feature a street fair venue along Hopkins Drive.
By utilizing Hopkins Drive and opening an entrance to the festival through the
Hopkins Parking Structure, programmers are trying to shift heavy amounts of
activity that have traditionally filled the campus’ Ridge Walk.

“[Ridge Walk] was never meant to handle what happens during
Sun God,” Festivals Coordinator Garrett Berg said. “There are throngs of people
and lots of things going [on] in this one narrow walkway. [Hopkins]
is well-suited for more activity, and, with planning, should offer an
atmosphere that’s less cramped than in previous years.”

The festival’s entrance operations came under criticism last
year when malfunctioning ID-scanning systems left crowds of rowdy students at
gateways. The programmers’ new approach is simplified, Highland
said, and only requires that attendees show a wristband and photo ID to enter.

Wristbands will be available May 12 through May 15, and none
will be offered on the day of the festival. Berg said that 5,000 guest
wristbands would be available for purchase for students’ guests, alumni, staff
and faculty. The number of guest wristbands matches last year’s number of guest
tickets. Berg also said although programmers are restricting wristband sales on
the day of the concert, they hope that expansion of publicity will familiarize
students with the new procedure.

“We’re having locations at every college where you can get
and buy wristbands,” he said. “With all of those locations in addition to a
central site, everyone should have ample opportunities to get admission.”

This year’s Sun God Festival, to be hosted May 16, will center
activity on RIMAC Field, which will host a DJ-manned dance, LCD monitors
displaying student artwork and films and local bands at different times
throughout the day. The additional activities promote community-building
“persona” for Sun God, Berg said. Safety became an issue after last year’s
festival, when the number of event-related arrests and citations rose; almost
half of those were linked to nonaffiliates. The missteps prompted programmers
to commission the Sun God Planning Report to assess festival operations and
comments from administrative departments about the impacts of the festival on
the campus. Administrators highlighted safety issues and the need to encourage
community bonding.

“The overarching goal for the festival is to create an event
that builds community and affiliation and maintains an environment that is safe
and protects the health and welfare of all participants,” Assistant Vice
Chancellor of Student Life Gary R. Ratcliff said.