[Coca] Re: Halloween & agencies

[Rafferty U. Kenney]

Hello again,
   Yeah it makes perfect sense to me. I'll/COCA will be in touch with Public
Safety regarding presentation and protocals. Thanks Josiah,

-- 
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>:

> Hey-
>
> While I understand what you are getting at with your pub safety
> question, I really can't give answers on decisions they make about
> searching bags or safety in general. It's really at their discretion,
> so I have to refer it to them, regardless of what my personal
> opinions on any given matter might be. Does that make sense?
>
> Josiah
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> Josiah S. Litant
> Assistant to the Dean of Student Services
> HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE
> Amherst, MA 01002
> phone (413) 559-5751
> fax (413) 559-5664
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Oct 19, 2007, at 6:08 PM, Rafferty U. Kenney wrote:
>
> > Hey Josiah,
> >    We've actually had a facebook site up and running for a few
> > weeks now. I just
> > wasn't sure whether we could defer people to a more official
> > Halloween site than
> > the facebook event. But it's not really any kind of problem, we can
> > just post
> > all information for guests elsewhere.
> >    With Pub Safety, I could talk to them about it directly, perhaps
> > along with
> > others from COCA. We wanted to ask you first because most Pubs'
> > hands are tied
> > and it's not always easy to get an answer with certain things.
> > Delroy is
> > probably the person we'd have to have much this discussion with,
> > but he'd been
> > out. I also wanted to get an idea of how Public Safety operates
> > from someone
> > who would and could answer questions from a perspective outside of
> > that
> > structure.
> >
> > --
> > 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>:
> >
> >> Hi there,
> >>
> >> Thanks for all the updates. As for the Public Safety stuff, I really
> >> don't have enough information about their protocols to answer your
> >> questions, I really do have to defer to Karen or Brad on this, and
> >> you should talk to them. And as for the intranet site, no, people
> >> from off campus cannot get onto it, that's how we have everything
> >> password protected (namely the guest list). The easiest and fastest
> >> way to get info out to folks off campus might be to set up a myspace
> >> or facebook page right away.
> >>
> >> 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 18, 2007, at 5:45 PM, Rafferty U. Kenney wrote:
> >>
> >> 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
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
>
>