Letters to the Editor

1/28/10 6:00pm

Online Comment of the Week

In response to "Beer Bike proposals misleading in intent," Jan. 22:There's an additional problem to these proposed [Beer Bike] changes that I feel has not been addressed - the fact that these proposed changes are happening far too late for implementation in March.

As of today, the final vote among the coordinators on whether or not to move the water balloon fight is slated for Feb. 1. That gives the coordinators about four weeks to make all the changes necessary for the new system - everything should be set in stone before spring break starts Feb. 28 in order to spread the news and teach everyone the new rules at least a week before Willy Week begins. That leaves 27 days to coordinate with Rice Emergency Medical Services, work with Rice University Police Department, draw up new security plans, rewrite the fine and penalty structure, figure out how cleanup is handled (it will be muddier and nastier than in past years) and discuss how balloons will be delivered to the fighters. Plus, there will be additional costs associated with laying down entirely new sod on the field, which will be necessary after a water balloon fight of this magnitude.

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There are even more costs involved. Paying RUPD to guard the balloons will be, for lack of a better description, crazy expensive - way more than trucks cost. It's $364 for two officers for a four-hour public party, and it will take a lot more officers than that to make sure that no WD-40 is introduced into the trash cans. If this cost is passed on to the college, it'll be more than the cost of a truck (Baker College spent about $300 last year).

There are some changes, though, that should definitely be made - namely, the caregiver system. For the rest, though, it's far too little, and way too late.

There's one more problem that I have with the proposed changes, and that's the emphasis on safety risks. True, no sane person would ever design a water balloon fight to be conducted from moving trucks, but really, I don't think the parade is all that unsafe, unless you're talking about overstretching EMS. The parade is rigorously organized. The whistle-and-horn system is well known and easily understood, even by those participants who may be intoxicated. The penalties are well-structured and well-communicated, and the method for assessing them works pretty well. Last year's parade coordinator looked to be near an aneurysm, true, but I think that's more a function of being a coordinator than a lack of safety.

Really, the administration wants to get rid of the trucks every single year. Safety is just an easy foundation upon which to construct an argument, but it's an unsound basis. When's the last time there was an accident on the route? Has anyone gotten hurt with the trucks before? If so, were the rules changed to prevent such an accident from ever occurring again?

The real question is, why are the coordinators willing to change the parade this year, rather than standing up to the administration to defend this Beer Bike tradition as has been done in the past?

Diana Cahill

Baker '11

Baker College Beer Bike Coordinator 2009

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