2008 Woodie Awards
URI employs changes in Union dance security
Chloe Thompson
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: News
03/28/08 - After a stabbing at the first dance of the year at the University of Rhode Island, student groups are seeing changes in the security policy for events held at the Memorial Union.
But Director of the Memorial Union, Bruce Hamilton, said yesterday these changes in policy have been "evolving" since last year, well before the incident in September where two New England Institute of Technology students were charged with disorderly conduct and simple assault in connection with the stabbing of a URI student at a dance.
The person who stabbed him was never discovered.
Since then, the university has seen a complete suspension of dances, events where only URI students were allowed, and now, only students with valid college IDs are allowed to attend events held in the Memorial Union.
Along with this, the university has hired a Cranston security firm, the Innovative Criminal Justice and Security Concepts, to help further with possible safety issues.
"It was the first time we'd had anything like that happen," Hamilton said. "We have taken major steps to make sure no one brings in anything that will hurt others."
But Hamilton said there's no real difference within the guest policy, except for an exclusion of alumni and local community.
"From day one, I explained to these student groups there was going to be a new policy," he said. "Whenever we had our first event [after the stabbing], it was going to be URI students only, until such time we got comfortable, and college students after that."
Hamilton said in the future it's possible that groups may be able to create a list of alumni to present to the Union Board before the event.
The Electronic Music Association, however, has tried to contest the policy, and said their profits and attendance from "Dance 'Till Dawn" will greatly decrease if the Memorial Union doesn't allow it to open the event to the public.
The group's event, Dance 'Till Dawn, will run April 5 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and Treasurer JT Isherwood said he felt the group wasn't notified of the changes in time, and for a brief time, believed their event might be excluded from the changed policy.
But Director of the Memorial Union, Bruce Hamilton, said yesterday these changes in policy have been "evolving" since last year, well before the incident in September where two New England Institute of Technology students were charged with disorderly conduct and simple assault in connection with the stabbing of a URI student at a dance.
The person who stabbed him was never discovered.
Since then, the university has seen a complete suspension of dances, events where only URI students were allowed, and now, only students with valid college IDs are allowed to attend events held in the Memorial Union.
Along with this, the university has hired a Cranston security firm, the Innovative Criminal Justice and Security Concepts, to help further with possible safety issues.
"It was the first time we'd had anything like that happen," Hamilton said. "We have taken major steps to make sure no one brings in anything that will hurt others."
But Hamilton said there's no real difference within the guest policy, except for an exclusion of alumni and local community.
"From day one, I explained to these student groups there was going to be a new policy," he said. "Whenever we had our first event [after the stabbing], it was going to be URI students only, until such time we got comfortable, and college students after that."
Hamilton said in the future it's possible that groups may be able to create a list of alumni to present to the Union Board before the event.
The Electronic Music Association, however, has tried to contest the policy, and said their profits and attendance from "Dance 'Till Dawn" will greatly decrease if the Memorial Union doesn't allow it to open the event to the public.
The group's event, Dance 'Till Dawn, will run April 5 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and Treasurer JT Isherwood said he felt the group wasn't notified of the changes in time, and for a brief time, believed their event might be excluded from the changed policy.