Student Association members are pushing for Syracuse University to add a day off to the academic calendar. The effort comes after Friday’s announcement that classes will be held during SU Showcase for the first time in five years.

In the past, students have spent the day off for SU Showcase hosting and attending block parties on Euclid Avenue. The off-campus parties were never sanctioned by SU.

Jon Barnhart, SA presidential candidate and current Student Engagement Committee chair, is one of the students heading the drive for a day off.

‘This is a tradition. This is something students want. This is something students need in a way, this day off right before finals when the weather is nice,’ Barnhart said.

Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric Spina sent an e-mail to the university community Friday announcing the change to reinstating classes and detailing additional plans for this year’s SU Showcase, which will be held Monday, April 19. The change was made to underline the ‘academic purpose’ of the day, Spina said.

SA will hold an open meeting Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium to hear student concerns and discuss the change.

SU Showcase used to be titled MayFest until the university attempted to distance its day of academic activities from the popular Euclid Avenue block parties. Controversy surrounded the name change last year, prompting students, neighbors and university administrators to form a committee to discuss the future of the event.

SA is petitioning Thomas Wolfe, vice president and dean of student affairs, for the day for students. If SA gets the day off for students approved, Barnhart, who was on last year’s SU Showcase planning committee, said the assembly can then start planning for the day.

‘This could be the best thing that has happened to MayFest,’ Barnhart said. ‘We really do have a chance here to separate these two days and make sure students have complete ownership of MayFest.’

Holding SU Showcase’s on-campus academic events the same day as the annual block party, MayFest, created a clash of purpose, Barnhart said.

With academic events on campus and the block party off campus, resources are spread thin, and students are pulled in two different directions, Barnhart said.

‘Faculty are aware of how the students feel,’ Barnhart said. ‘We know Spina and everyone below is aware that if they put back classes, people are going to take SU Showcase and make it their own. That’s kind of how it’s happened for the last few years.’

Hari Iyer, the other SA presidential candidate and a junior finance, policy studies and economics major, said he supports every effort to bring back MayFest and that the administration had ‘no right to take it away’ in the first place.

‘I think given the tenacity of most SU students, we’re probably going to have MayFest anyway on that day, and by that I mean students will likely skip class. That’s my prediction, and I hope it doesn’t have to come to that,’ Iyer said.

Barnhart is concerned about what kind of safety precautions will be in place if students should go ahead with a block party on SU Showcase without a scheduled day off.

‘We’ll be half as prepared, which could mean less safety, which could mean students getting harmed or worse,’ Barnhart said.

Tony Callisto, chief of SU’s Department of Public Safety, has been around for the past three MayFests. He said out of all the activities and events he’s worked with, MayFest requires the most DPS presence and the most resources.

‘The day off from classes has always generated a day-long event on Euclid Avenue. It took a tremendous amount of resources. There were large numbers, over 3,000 people participating,’ Callisto said. ‘We’ve had a couple of arrests over the years, and the biggest challenge was trying to make sure people remained safe and hydrated and didn’t get hit by cars.’

DPS hopes students will attend class and will deal with any situations if they arise that day, Callisto said.

Students have already started expressing outrage over the change. The Facebook group ‘Operation Rescue MAYFEST’ had more than 3,500 members as of Sunday night.

Other students have expressed dismay over the plans to hold classes on April 19.

‘MayFest is awesome. If you’re the city of Syracuse, or the university, you have so much more to worry about than some college kids drinking and having a good time,’ said Sam Hochberg, a sophomore sports management major.

Bob Reynolds, a senior biochemistry major, said he saw the move as a public relations ploy to please local residents who have complained about the off-campus partying in the past.

‘Honestly, I don’t think it has anything to do with underage drinking, I think they just want to make neighbors happy,’ Reynolds said.

In the past, due to destruction of property and overcrowding in the streets, the South East University Neighborhood Association advocated for an end to the Euclid Avenue block parties and the reinstatement of classes on that day.

Carly Getz, a freshman broadcast journalism major, lives in Syracuse and attended MayFest last year. She said she’s upset that her first year on campus, the tradition’s been cancelled.

‘I think it’s just ridiculous. It’s such a big part of Syracuse. I understand why the university cancelled it, but it’s such a tradition. It’s a great way to meet people because instead of everyone being confined to their individual houses, it gets everyone outside,’ Getz said. ‘It brings everyone together.’

jmterrus@syr.edu

Published on October 25, 2009 at 12:00 pm