By Joshua Nelson, Director of Leadership Activities
Many students have noticed a lack of the Moorebid on the Student Events Calendar, and I wish to respond.
Over the past several years the Office of Leadership Activities has worked very closely with the Student Life Committee of the SGA to address some of the major concerns related to Moorebid. Capacity issues, space-limitation, student alcohol abuse, alcohol-related transportations to the hospital, student mis-conduct cases, etc. all centered around the weekend of the Moorebid event. We tried various venues around campus (entire Case Center, Williamson Sports Gym, Recreation Gym, SPA). We tried to increase capacity; we tried limiting capacity. We increased on campus safety officers and hired outside security to help staff the event. We partnered with the Office of Health Promotions in awareness campaigns and even offered discounted tickets if you attend an alcohol awareness event prior to Moorebid. Nothing seemed to curb the riotous behavior of students. There truly was a culture of excess around the entire weekend – something that is a stain on a student culture and Skidmore as a whole.
Reports of students being violated, feeling threatened and generally not feeling welcomed at an event that so blatantly has a culture of excess, where students demanded free tickets, and stormed the doors to enter, is not something I can support. I spoke up. I explained to the Student Life Committee of the SGA that I was not going to approve the registration of the event in the future, and advised them not to allocate funding for such an event this year. They discussed my concerns and agreed to pull the funding and focus their efforts on other community-minded events. Specifically, this year they chose to fund the Founder’s Day event that occurred on Sept 3rd and was open to the entire Skidmore Community. We agreed that events they sponsor should be open to all students, and should not carry a culture so counter the mission of the SGA and Skidmore as whole.
Truly last year was one of the best, if not THE best, planned Moorebid in the history of the event. Nonetheless, the meaning behind the tradition was lost amongst the students using drugs and alcohol to fuel a night of no-rules and destructive actions. The concern was not the event itself, but the pattern of high-risk, sometimes life-threatening behavior that accompanied Moorebid. It’s clear to me that tradition of Moorebid had been corrupted into one of excessive drinking and a disregard for the community standards and college policies. Unfortunately, Moorebid is not the social event of the year. That novelty has been lost.
The Office of Leadership Activities continues to rely on a positive and mutually beneficial relationship with the SGA, and will support them and their 130 registered student clubs. I personally look forward to the many upcoming events already scheduled for this year.