Campout incident clarifications

In response to statements and opinions printed in the Technician regarding the recent UNC-Chapel Hill basketball ticket Campout, I would like to provide the following information to clarify any confusion or misunderstandings that may have arisen. First, some history. Over the last several years, Campout has been an event that has been planned according to rules that were jointly established by Student Government, Athletics, Campus Police and Student Affairs. One of the decisions that came out of this collaborative planning was to equally divide available tickets between Campout and the on-line system. The rationale for this decision is that students who cannot or don’t want to camp out should also have an opportunity to obtain tickets.

This year’s Campout was moved to a different location and included numerous activities of interest to students. As a result, registrations for Campout increased dramatically and eventually exceeded the total number of tickets available to students. When I received information that the Campus Affairs Committee of the Student Senate, in response to this situation, had made a decision to provide all of the available tickets to students who camped out, I was concerned because this decision deviated from the past agreement and had not been discussed with all of the other responsible parties.

It was on that basis that I responded and indicated that the tickets should be split as had been the case in the past. Late that evening, I talked with Bobby Mills and Jay Dawkins, both of whom argued strongly that the plan to give a ticket to everyone who camped should remain in place. During those conversations both of those students indicated that they understood and agreed with the need to split the distribution of tickets as had been done in the past and that they would support that procedure for future Campouts, but to change what the Committee had just decided would not be a good outcome. Both of these students presented their arguments strongly and in a mature and responsible manner. After I listened to their arguments, I agreed that they were right, and I told them to move ahead with their plan.

Campout was a tremendous success, and I am very proud of the work that Jay and the Committee did to plan the event, and I am proud of all the N.C. State students who were there and showed their support for our team. However, anyone who criticizes Bobby Mills or Jay Dawkins for not standing up for and advocating for students in this instance is entirely mistaken.

Thomas H. Stafford, Jr.Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

The abused can’t give consent

This is in response to Catie Pike’s article from Monday. I had to take a day to confer with my friends who are deeper into the BDSM lifestyle than myself, and they all agree: Your friend is doing it wrong. In a proper BDSM session, true injury shouldn’t occur, and the dominant partner should be smart enough to stop once any serious damage has occurred. If this isn’t happening with your friend, something needs to stop. Sexual sadism and sexual masochism are defined as psychological disorders. Casual running around at Legends once a week in a corset and faux leather riding crop wouldn’t really be deviant enough to fall into this category, but continuing a session into injury would throw up red flags for any clinician. Keep in mind that your friend is not the only one who needs help. The one on the other end of the whip, who is taking the session from pleasure to injury, needs just as much help, as well. If your friend truly is suffering from a disorder, she is not in any kind of mental state to truly give consent for her physical well-being to anyone else. I sincerely hope that you can help your friend. Even just writing it up publicly might be enough to get her to take another look at her behavior.

Agnes Davisjunior, psychology