Ban lifted from tailgating procedures; students need to keep pressure on administration
The ban on external sound systems during tailgating has been lifted. Students can once again play music in Lot 63, starting with the homecoming game Saturday against Eastern Michigan.
A lot of credit goes to Student Government Association Jason Nichol, who fought hard to have the ban lifted. He’s still fighting and continuing to open up greater communication between students and the tailgating committee.
The new amendment to the tailgating proceedures will allow students to use external sound systems starting at 8:30 a.m. on gamedays. The external sound systems will be placed in specific locations. In order to uphold saftey standards, students with the systems will be told what to do in emergency situations.
Although the other tailgating rules will not be changed, this is a big step toward students having their voices heard.
The lifting of the ban may seem trivial. But if students had not voiced their opinions and simply dealt with the ban, nothing would have changed. The administration would have continued to push students around.
Nichol has done a terrific job working as a liaison between the student body and the CMU administration. His dealings with the adminstration has been effective thus far. SGA is making an impact around Central Michigan University and will hopefully continue to do so.
Nichol has started a student ad-hoc committee that will work with university officals. This committee will act as the voice of the student body. It will work to make sure that tailgating procedures are better understood between students, administrators and police.
Students should be aware of the power they have here at the university. When they become organized and band together to make a difference, goals have a much higher rate of succession. The lift on the ban is evidence of this. Hopefully, students will not give up.
The lift on the ban also shows what can happen when the administration opens its doors and effectively listens to students. The ban, along with the other restrictions at tailgate, should not have been established in the first place. It was a waste of time on everyone’s part.
If emergency vehicles coming into tailgating was the reason for not having external sound systems, the athletic department should have simply installed new expectations for students, like they are now, insteading of having the systems banned.
The proceedures for tailgating still are not where they should be. But as long as students keep the pressure on the athletic department and university officials, the rules can continue to be changed to include what students deem acceptable, not just what the university deems as suitable.
