No ass on glass: New Baker 13 rule prohibits “butt-printing” on glass

By Ella Feldman     10/29/18 11:52pm

 

A new rule developed by Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman and leaders at Baker College will “highly discourage” students from pressing their rear ends on glass windows during Baker 13, according to Baker College President Eliza Martin. The new rule comes after  a student broke a window at Sid Richardson College during a recent Baker 13 run.

“Baker and university administration are concerned about student safety,” Martin said. “We’re working with Baker 13 leadership to try to address some of the safety issues by modifying one rule of Baker 13 to prevent students from ‘butt-printing’ on glass windows.”

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Gorman said in past incidences where students have broken glass, their injuries could have been far worse.

“I don't think movies do us much favor in terms of people going through a glass window and they stand up and they're fine,” Gorman said. “The reality is actually a lot different. People can and do get hurt, sometimes grievously hurt, sometimes they're killed from this. My concern is they break the glass, they're naked, and it hits a femoral artery. That's not a trivial thing, that's pretty instantaneously life threatening.”

Gorman said she has no interest in stopping the Baker 13 runs.

“I recognize it’s a longstanding tradition,” Gorman said. “It reflects freedom and independence and literally letting it all hang out, and I'm probably going to get quoted on that.”

Martin said the new rule will be enforced by the students who lead Baker 13.

“The shift in Baker 13 culture is going to require time, but we hope that people hold each other accountable in order to ensure that we don’t have any more safety accidents and that the run can continue,” Martin said.

Michael Price, who leads the Baker 13 runs, said he thinks the rule is unrealistic, and that encouraging students to avoid windows might actually incur more property damage to brick surfaces.

“Personally, I don’t find it to be a realistic change.” Price, a sophomore at Baker College, said. “Will less people get hurt? Yes. Will the shaving cream cause more property damage? To me, that answer is also a yes.”

Price said that this will affect the traditional “reading of the rules” that takes place before students embark on the streak. Rule number four, which used to be “glass only, no bricks or shit” will now be “bricks only, no glass or shit.”

Gorman said one other benefit of the new rule is it will reduce the mess that members of Housing & Dining have to clean up the next day. Ultimately, though, she said the main driver of the change is safety.

“This is a decision made through the lens of safety and trying to reduce and prevent unintentional injuries among our students — injuries that have the potential to be very serious,” Gorman said. “It all just depends on how you hit that glass.”

This story has been updated on 10/31 with quotes from Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman. 

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