SpeakSC Forum discusses annual fountain run options

Undergraduate Student Government hosted a SpeakSC Forum on Wednesday night that centered on the annual fountain run tradition that many undergraduate seniors partake in.

USG President Andrew Menard, moderated the forum. Administrators in attendance included Dr. Ainsley Carry, vice provost for Student Affairs; Dr. Monique Allard, assistant provost for Student Affairs; and Lieutenant Hecklemann of the Dept. of Public Safety.

For the last decade, seniors have attempted to run into all of the fountains located on the University Park campus. The annual fountain run, which occurs on the last Thursday before graduation, has sparked great concern among school officials due to the damage caused by last year’s event.

Last year, three students were transported to a local hospital due to injuries or intoxication. The 2014 fountain run cost the university $34,842 in damages. Though DPS wrapped parts of the fountains in specialized fencing to prevent damage and student injury, nearly all of the fences were torn down in under eight minutes.

Youth Triumphant, a fountain located at the center of Alumni Park and features a solid bronze statue atop four “modest maidens,” incurred the most financial and physical damage.

Menard commented on the importance of smoothly facilitating this year’s fountain run.

“Administrators reached out to USG and said, ‘Look, these are the damages we’ve incurred, this is the amount of lacerations there have been, this is the amount of students that were transported to the hospital, and we need to have a conversation about liability and safety,’” Menard said. “USG wanted students to have a place in this discussion so we decided to put together an event where we can get administrators and students in the same room talking about solutions.”

Students and administrators reached a consensus agreeing that the fountain run must change in order to ensure student safety. Others also expressed their desire to effectively communicate about the event in order to preserve the fountain tradition.

Carry asked students to work with administrators to help achieve a smoother, safer event.

“We need your help for coming up with a smarter way to make this a safe event,” Carry said. “The fountain run was born out of the students. You have a chance to stake a claim in what is acceptable at your institution.”

Students in attendance also contributed their ideas to the administration. One senior suggested selling tickets to contribute to the possible damages incurred during the event and to prevent outsiders from participating. Another student suggested checking student identification for this purpose. Many students supported the idea of an alternative event, however, such as food trucks or a concert, running concurrently with the fountain run to direct traffic away from the fountains.

Lieutenant Hecklemenn asserted that the fountains be excluded from any kind of alternative event. Other administrators agreed with this sentiment.

“An alternative event is an excellent idea, but it would have to exclude the fountains,” Hecklemenn said. “The fountains are simply not designed for this kind of event. That’s the challenge.”

Suggestions to end the fountain run for the 2015 school year was met by hesitation from students. Many felt the cancellation of the highly anticipated event would not stop seniors from continuing to partake in the fountain run.

Rini Sampath, vice president of USG, said cancelling the fountain run might not be effective.

“Cancellation of the fountain run might create an issue where students are organizing it for a day where DPS isn’t aware,” Sampath said. “So if we were going to organize something else I think it would need to coexist with the fountain run.”