Champagne steps look to be a go for Friday
John DeBruicker
Issue date: 4/27/07 Section: News
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After what seemed like endless deliberation, cacophonous meetings and misinformed rumors, it now looks like the class of 2007 will indeed be celebrating the end of their four years of classes with champagne on the steps of Miller Library at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 11.
On the night of Tuesday Apr. 10, approximately fifty to sixty seniors met with Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Jim Terhune and Director of Student Activities Kelly Wharton to clear up any misinformation and put some plans together for the oft-debated celebration. The deans made it clear once again that the steps were not canceled by any means. Their only concern was that student behavior during the steps could not repeat that of last year's celebration in which students were hospitalized and arrested. All along, the deans had made it clear that if the students took the initiative in making sure the class's behavior improved, the tradition could continue. By the end of the meeting, students had organized into five subgroups of planning to make sure that this year's celebration will run smoothly on May 11, the last day of classes.
"I was certainly reassured by that conversation," Terhune said of the meeting. "I think we we cleared up a lot of things.
There were folks going 'so, is steps back?' and we were saying 'well, steps was never gone.'" The administration never conspired to do away with the champagne tradition.
"Frankly, students share most of the concerns that we have. The biggest ones that we all have have to do with people's safety." Broken champagne bottles and excessive alcohol consumption have been major issues in recent years.
"How they presented it to us is they said 'listen, we want you folks to be involved in making sure that it goes well,'" said Kate Braemer '07 who is heading up the student effort to plan the steps. "It's an event for seniors, it might as well be organized and run by seniors." Before the event takes place, some seniors will meet with College Security to make sure that they know that the responsibility for policing the event will belong primarily to the students. "As soon as security feels that they can't handle it is when things go wrong. The last thing we want is for police to come on campus. No one wants that," Braemer said.
On the night of Tuesday Apr. 10, approximately fifty to sixty seniors met with Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Jim Terhune and Director of Student Activities Kelly Wharton to clear up any misinformation and put some plans together for the oft-debated celebration. The deans made it clear once again that the steps were not canceled by any means. Their only concern was that student behavior during the steps could not repeat that of last year's celebration in which students were hospitalized and arrested. All along, the deans had made it clear that if the students took the initiative in making sure the class's behavior improved, the tradition could continue. By the end of the meeting, students had organized into five subgroups of planning to make sure that this year's celebration will run smoothly on May 11, the last day of classes.
"I was certainly reassured by that conversation," Terhune said of the meeting. "I think we we cleared up a lot of things.
There were folks going 'so, is steps back?' and we were saying 'well, steps was never gone.'" The administration never conspired to do away with the champagne tradition.
"Frankly, students share most of the concerns that we have. The biggest ones that we all have have to do with people's safety." Broken champagne bottles and excessive alcohol consumption have been major issues in recent years.
"How they presented it to us is they said 'listen, we want you folks to be involved in making sure that it goes well,'" said Kate Braemer '07 who is heading up the student effort to plan the steps. "It's an event for seniors, it might as well be organized and run by seniors." Before the event takes place, some seniors will meet with College Security to make sure that they know that the responsibility for policing the event will belong primarily to the students. "As soon as security feels that they can't handle it is when things go wrong. The last thing we want is for police to come on campus. No one wants that," Braemer said.
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