By Travis DeNeal 14

SIUC will not co-sponsor a spring event similar to this fall’s First Cellular’s Main Street Pigout because doing so is a violation of the University’s alcohol policy.

Right now the policy is clear, SIUC Chancellor Donald Beggs said. We don’t sponsor the sale of alcohol, but we sure can cooperate.

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The event cooperatively is being planned by Carbondale Main Street and the Student Programming Council. Though the date is tentative, it is planned for one of the latter weekends in April.

Undergraduate Student Government backs the celebration and passed a resolution at its Nov. 19 meeting asking the University to sponsor and cooperate with a spring festival.

Beggs based his opinion not to sponsor a spring event on a recommendation he received from Peter Ruger, general counsel for SIUC. The problem, Ruger said, is a legal definition of sponsor.

Ruger’s recommendation states, A sponsor has been defined in a Wisconsin case (no Illinois definitions are reported) as a person or organization that pays for or plans and carries out the activity.’

Ruger further recommended that SIUC take a cooperative, liability-free role in a spring event. Beggs said the University should cooperate with the proposed event.

Until 1992, SIUC had its annual Springfest celebration, a bring-your-own-beer music festival. The University canceled Springfest after the 1991 event, where attendees hurled beer cans at others while watching a band.

From 1993 to 1995, SIUC had the Dawg Days of Spring, a non-alcoholic version of Springfest, which was canceled because of a lack of participation.

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USG President Dave Vingren said he wants specific details concerning how much the University will cooperate, and how much it will allow Student Programming Council, which is pushing for the event, to participate.

I understand the problem of liability, he said. We need to work together to work our way around that.

Andrew Daly, an SPC member who is working to develop the spring event, said SPC passed a proposal Monday outlining the festival.

SPC intends to have a spring event including ourselves, all Registered Student Organizations, the city and possibly including alcohol, Daly said. The main thing is to work with them (administration) in doing this event. We need to sit down and work with them to figure everything out.

If allowed, the extent of SPC’s role in the event eventually will be determined by University administration, Daly said.

Joel Fritzler, program manager of Carbondale Main Street, said his organization will continue to work with the University to bring the event to the community.

Even though the University will not sponsor the event, Fritzler said he is pleased that SIUC is at least officially cooperating with the festival.

I thought it (Beggs’ decision) was quite positive, Fritzler said. I’m glad the University is working with us and the community at a closer level.