University officials meet to discuss event policies

Fighting and gunshots at a campus dance during Little 500 weekend forced University officials to meet Wednesday to discuss policy.

Dean of Students Dick McKaig met with Steve Veldkamp, assistant dean of students and director of student activities, and other University officials to discuss violations of the dance policy.

On April 25, the IU student group A Person Among People sponsored a dance that about 600 people attended. The dance took place in the Indiana Memorial Union’s Alumni Hall.

A fight at the beginning of the dance and another fight later shut down the event, McKaig said.

Police directing traffic at the event heard gunshots and found five 9 mm shell casings and two .45-caliber shell casings in an IMU parking lot. The gunshot investigation is only loosely connected to the meeting, McKaig said.

A similar protocol meeting is routine after incidents occur at student organization sponsored events. 

A Person Among People failed to follow policy for the dance, McKaig said. Paperwork wasn’t turned in on time and the private security company the group hired wasn’t vetted by the IU Police Department.

If the group followed proper procedures, it might not have prevented the fights or gunshots, McKaig said. Students attended the dance during IU’s Little 500, which is infamous for its drinking.

McKaig said he didn’t hear that there was a problem with alcohol at the dance. There is little trouble with alcohol at most dances, he said. Alcohol is prohibited at campus student-sponsored events.

He said the guidelines groups organizing dances must follow are based on best practices from universities across the country.

The Office of Student Organizations and Leadership Development’s Web site described A Person Among People’s mission as “To unite people from all backgrounds to evoke change by actively involving themselves in intelligent conversation constantly.”