Greek mixer canceled by Public Safety

Officials claimed that the event would differ from the original proposal. and Catherine Lucey Penn fraternity and sorority members who were planning to dance and drink during tonight's all-Greek mixer at Moravian Court will have to change their plans, as the Division of Public Safety decided at the last minute yesterday to cancel the event. Officials from Public Safety and the University's Greek student umbrella groups are blaming each other for miscommunication surrounding the cancellation, which was announced yesterday afternoon in an e-mail from the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs to all fraternity and sorority presidents. The Greek Week mixer was scheduled to last from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. It was slated to have a disc jockey as well as food and alcohol from the restaurants in and surrounding Moravian Court, the block sandwiched between Sansom Row and the 3401 Walnut Street complex. University Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush said the police decided to cancel the mixer when they were informed that tonight's event would continue late into the night and that various restaurants would serve alcohol, a description that differed radically from how the event was first presented to them -- as a booze-free "information session." "The whole complexion of the event changed at the last minute," Vice President for Public Safety Tom Seamon said. "I had to make the painful decision to cancel it." But when told of Seamon's remarks, Greek Week Committee Co-Chairperson Liz Bernard said the plans for the mixer had not changed since the Greeks began planning it last February and that the the police were responsible for the communication problems. She added that Tom Carroll, OFSA's assistant director, had tried to contact Rush to discuss the mixer for "a long time." "[Rush] just recently got back to him," said Bernard, a College senior and Sigma Delta Tau sister. "The next thing I knew the event was canceled." Seamon said he "found it hard to believe that [Rush] would not call them back if they had called her." Neither Carroll nor OFSA Director Scott Reikofski could be reached for comment last night. Representatives of the Moravian Cafes food court, who worked with the Greeks to plan the event, and officials in the office of the Vice Provost for University Life originally told the police the event would be an alcohol-free information session, held from 4-7 p.m., according to Seamon. But Seamon said VPUL officials told police on Tuesday night that the event had changed to a late-night mixer where alcohol would be served. "The way the entire party was set up and with what else was happening that night, we came to the conclusion that we did not have the resources to provide adequate security," Seamon said. When told of Seamon's comments, Bernard countered that the officials at Portfolio Marketing Group -- who represent Trammell Crow Co., the operators of the food court, and were helping the Greeks to coordinate the event -- were always aware of the nature of the event. "They were the ones who hired a band, which we later changed to a D.J. They were the ones that contacted [the bars] New Deck [Tavern] and Mad 4 Mex," Bernard said. Bernard said there was a discrepancy about the hours, which she thought Portfolio representative Kate McAllister had resolved. She said McAllister thought the mixer would be held from 4-7 p.m. When the Greeks told McAllister of the error at a September 30 meeting, she agreed to change the hours and said she was confident that the new time would not cause any problems, Bernard said. Neither McAllister nor any representatives of the VPUL could be reached for comment last night. InterFraternity Council President and College senior Josh Belinfante said he was "extremely disappointed" by the cancellation since the event has been in the works for so long. Other Greek Week events include tomorrow's screening of Good Will Hunting on College Green and a carnival on Saturday. Both Greeks and non-Greeks can participate.

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