[Coca] Re: Halloween & agencies

[Rafferty U. Kenney]

Hi Josiah,
   The Yurt is definitely a no-go. I sent out an e-mail to Rel around the same
time as the previous e-mail just to check, and he said that that facility would
be totally unavailable for such use anyway. Were that not the case, the reasons
you listed are all good ones for us not doing that regardless.
   Andrew strongly discouraged using Theatrix as well. I did find an invoice
from Limelight dated 10/31/05, so we'll utilize Limrelight.
   In terms of protocol discussions we (signers Jay, Shane, Raff) agreed that
this would be an important discussion that would need to happen, but do not
have the time for that now and the ordering process seems to be mostly
finished. So perhaps a November discussion?
   As regards the checks and searches, what are the definitions and limitations
pursuant to the general guidelines of Hampshire College and in NSNS?
   I'd been told that part of the discomfort people had with the RCC was the
personability of security working there, as well as, for lack of better terms,
an initial view as more akin to a guarded fortress than as an avenue for music
and dancing. In terms of the RCC, it has a lot to do with the overall
interaction between security and students. What bothers me the most personally
is the difference between the RCC and the back gate. Whereas attendees who had
somehow not heard about the RCC would still have the chance to do something
else, this option would not be there for those entering the gates. Of course, I
do not know the exact protocols for this or what would constitute Public
Safety's "discretionary" criteria (Someone with an obviously full bag? More at
random?).
   Also, is there a way for non-Hampshire people to access and view
http://intranet.hampshire.edu/halloween ? I began advertising that site and
almost immediately was hit with complaints about needing an account to access
it. Would there be a way around that, such as say a temporary account for
off-campus persons?

-- 
Rafferty Kenney, co-chair
Committee on Community Activities
Hampshire College
P.O. box 0891
Amherst, MA 01002
(518) 928-7129


Quoting "Josiah S. Litant" <jlitant at hampshire.edu>:

> Hello Raff.
>
> Here are the answers to your questions:
>
> 1. The tent between the living rooms is owned by the college, but we
> have to pay the tent rental place to come and set it up, so the cost
> will be similar to renting anyway, I suspect. In addition, I am
> nervous about having events by the yurt (in the woods at night). This
> would also incur an additional officer to work by the Yurt, which
> would cost more money. My advice would be NOT to use the Yurt,
> especially when there are already 3 other dance/music venues in use
> that evening. Thoughts on this?
>
> 2. I have gotten VERY strong input from several people that yo
> ushould not use Theatrix. If you can work with Limelight, I think you
> might be better off.
>
> 3. We can talk more about protocol for ordering items after the event
> is over, you make good points. We want to retain COCA's autonomy, but
> I don't know if removing special programs from the ordering makes
> sense. I suspect there is a middle ground we can find that will work
> better for next year.
>
> 4. Re: searching bags. This is really at Public Safety's discretion.
> I talked to Karen about it, and suggested that we might say that all
> bags in the RCC will be searched, and other items may be searched at
> entrance points at "Public Safety's discretion." This was only my
> suggestion, I don't know what they will do with it. I recognize how
> this makes people uncomfortable, but yet there is no way to let
> people into the RCC without knowing what they are bringing in. PS
> needs to have the ability to search items over the course of the
> night as they deem necessary. Do you have any suggestions on how we
> might make people feel more comfortable with this?
>
> Josiah
>
>
> ------------------------------------------
> Josiah S. Litant
> Assistant to the Dean of Student Services
> HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE
> Amherst, MA 01002
> phone (413) 559-6666
> fax (413) 559-5663
>
>
> On Oct 17, 2007, at 12:29 PM, Rafferty U. Kenney wrote:
>
> Hi Josiah,
> 	There were a couple of things I was hoping you could answer.
> Firstly, does
> Hampshire College indeed own and operate the tent that has been emplaced
> between the Dakin and Merrill House offices? I do not know the
> details as to
> storage, set-up, and use, but was wondering how that tent was being
> utilized
> for Halloween. If it is available, could we put it in front of the
> Yurt and
> have an additional dance area, albeit on a much larger scale? An idea
> I’d had*
> would be to have a play list of dance music compiled by COCA that
> would be used
> on Halloween, but the idea seemed infeasible and non-justifiable in
> terms of the
> expense incurred for the rental of tents and additional equipment for
> the sole
> purpose of a secondary play list. However, if we were to utilize the
> Yurt for
> that purpose, would it be possible to set up another dance tent near
> the Yurt
> by utilizing a tent that belongs to Hampshire College?
> 	Also, as of writing this, we have not yet finalized the equipment
> rentals from
> Theatrix. I called yesterday to consult with them, and they said that
> I was the
> third person to call from Hampshire College regarding Halloween. He
> seemed to
> indicate that at least one of the two previous calls was from Kelley,
> and also
> said that Bruce, the person in charge of these things, was out and would
> perhaps be in tomorrow (Wednesday today). I was planning on calling
> Theatrix to
> fully ascertain what we need and what is needed of us as regards the
> lighting
> and sound for the RCC, Main Tent, and Library Gallery central areas,
> and any
> others. As before, this information should be complete and available
> extremely
> soon so that the orders can be processed. Andrew Hart from Media
> Services has
> been contacting us and advising against Theatrix, and offered several
> alternative agencies instead. Thus, we will be exploring those options
> throughout the day.
> 	The help given us by various other offices has been a Godsend, most
> especially
> Special Programs, the SDCL, and Student Affairs. In terms of co-
> ordination,
> this process has been helpful to all offices and groups that are
> involved with
> Halloween. However, one thing that may further streamline the
> efficiency of the
> process in the future would be for COCA to more autonomously handle
> certain
> aspects of the event. The rentals in particular seem to be a
> component best
> handled by COCA independently of other offices in order to maintain a
> degree of
> efficiency, which would thus free up the time and focus of other
> offices and
> groups when delegating tasks such as the handling of permits,
> security, etc. We
> were mostly hoping that there would be a way to minimize redundancy
> of all
> persons involved while coordinating with all offices as well.
> 	Another concern of ours had to do with the Amherst Police Department
> and Public
> Safety regarding the inspection of personal belongings. Is there any
> way that we
> could make this seem less “intrusive” to attendees? There were a
> great deal of
> complaints about that from last year in terms of feeling welcome to
> the event
> and in the RCC. Is there a way of communicating this concern to the
> APD in
> particular, but also Public Safety at large in terms helping people
> to feel
> comfortable? Let us know any thoughts or suggestions. Thanks,
>
> --
> Rafferty Kenney, co-chair
> Committee on Community Activities
> Hampshire College
> P.O. box 0891
> Amherst, MA 01002
> (518) 928-7129
>
>
>
>
>