The Talley Late Night Task Force met Thursday to discuss changes in policy and procedure for student-sponsored events hosted in Talley Student Center following a stabbing incident that occurred last September. The goal is to have procedures and policies finalized in time for a Kappa Alpha Psi event scheduled for Nov. 17.
The committee included representatives from Reservations and Event Management, Greek Life, Multi-Cultural Student Affairs, Campus Activities and the Student Center each voicing his or her concerns over the new policy. All the task force meetings are open to students and there were some in attendance.
“We tried to put the task force together to represent those with interest in events held in the student center,” said Director of Campus Activities Deb Luckadoo.
According to Luckadoo, major changes include an increase from five private security staff members to seven in addition to the four uniformed officers that the former policy required.
Luckadoo said a camera will be installed in the lobby to record entry and ticketing practices. She also said the changes will raise the security deposit student organizations are required to pay for use of the center from $850 to $1250.
Felicia Baity, Director of African American Student Affairs, said that the increased deposit may be a problem for many student organizations to provide up-front. She also mentioned that there may be other funding options for events held at the student center since these activities serve a large portion of students.
“It seems that a lot of money is being tied up to host the event. $1250 is a lot of money for one student organization to put up,” said Adam Compton, representative for the Student Center Board of Directors.
Compton also asked about the break-down of the new deposit.
Randy Colby, manager of reservations and event management, said $840 of the deposit covers the cost of security for the event at $30 per hour for each of the seven officers with events typically lasting four hours.
He said another $375 goes towards employing Talley Student Center staff for the event at $15 per hour and an additional $50 for having the building open during special hours.
According to Luckadoo, finding a private security company to work the events is posing a problem. She said the previous company stopped working with the center and recently contacted companies do not want to work until 2:00 a.m.
Tracey Ray, director of multicultural student affairs, said there are concerns that by not hosting late-night parties in the student center student, organizations are forced to hold events in places where they are encouraged to engage in underage drinking and drunk driving.
“[Talley Student Center] is a non-alcoholic venue for safe and on-campus events,” he said.
Luckadoo said Talley Student Center has been closed to student sponsored organization events since September of last year after a stabbing incident occurred at an event hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha.
According to Luckadoo, the weapon was part of an article of clothing and security wands at the door would not have served as a preventative measure. She also said that the procedures in place did not lead to the incident occurring.
“We want students to have on-campus events at Talley,” she said. “We just want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to ensure it is a safe environment.”
