With Ivies officially arriving next week, preparations for the event are in full swing. The Office of Safety and Security and the Entertainment Board (E-Board) are gearing up for the events of next Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Despite the challenges of organizing the annual Ivies concert—featuring Janelle Monáe, Mac Miller and recent addition Dr. Dog—representatives of the E-Board seem fairly relaxed.
E-Board Co-President David Gruber '11 said, "most of the work has already been done. The next week...is more or less waiting."
According to Gruber, and fellow Co-President Morgan Andersen '12, members of the E-Board will be selling T-shirts and posters to students over the next few days. The sale of Ivies merchandise has been underway for several days.
After that, the E-Board's next task is setting up Whittier Field for the big day.
Though students were wary of last year's change of venue from the Quad to the football field, Andersen thought it worked out better than expected.
"It is a lot easier to manage. Logistically it is much easier because there is only one entrance point," he said. "The space kind of funnels people together."
Andersen also said that holding the concert at Whittier enhances the concert experience.
"Having it on the football field gives us the option to have an industry-standard stage rather than the facilities stage, which is a little worn these days," Andersen said.
Gruber and Andersen hope to have the stage set up by Friday morning, weather permitting. With rain in the forecast for next week, the E-Board has prepared weather contingency plans that include moving the concert into Morrell Lounge.
But Andersen said that is only a worst-case scenario, saying he thought that "all students would rather have it outdoors. We will make that call Friday night, but ideally it will be sunny."
Once the stage is set up, members of the E-Board will meet with Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols on Saturday to "make sure everybody's on the same page," according to Gruber.
After that, Andersen said, "we will just be making sure the artists have what they need."
"At this point, we're at the 'hurry up and wait' stage," said Andersen.
Things are just getting underway for Security, however.
Nichols said that his team has started "working with Student Activities and ResLife just with our normal preparations for Ivies week. It's going to be a busy week for us right from Wednesday into Sunday."
Like Andersen and Gruber, Nichols prefers the concert location at Whittier.
"It went really well last year and we think it's a great venue," he said. "It is fenced in as opposed to the main quad, which is impossible to control access. From a safety and security perspective [it] is an ideal place."
Members of Security have also been preparing Brunswick officials for the events of next week.
"We have been working with some of the local authorities," said Nichols. "From the local police to the codes enforcement people to the fire [department]...we've been keeping each other informed."
Nichols explained that "anything alcohol-related is our biggest concern. That's where the problems arise and if anything bad is going to happen during Ivies, it will be [due to] abuse of alcohol."
According to Nichols, there is no specific event that is most concerning to Security. What does worry him however are "the students who may choose to drink irresponsibly in small groups, in dorms [or] out of sight which could lead to a problem either there or at an event later on."
In order to ensure students stay healthy and hydrated during the festivities, the Dining Service, ResLife and Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) will be providing food and non-alcoholic beverages. The annual parties held at Harpswell Apartments and Pine Street Apartments, as well as Saturday's concert, will have plenty of food and water on hand.
"In recent years we've had great success on Ivies," Nichols said. "We've been fortunate not to have many transports at all during Ivies and we'd like to keep that record going."
Nichols said he will begin distributing a "SurvIvies" guide for students early next week to ensure students stay safe during the weekend.
Tips in the guide include reminders about bringing a Bowdoin ID to the concert, the ban on glass and beer cans at Whittier and ways to avoid getting in trouble with local officials.
"Nine times out of 10, Brunswick Police Department tickets will be given [to students] because of obvious violations on the street or in public, walking with open containers...or acting intoxicated to such an extent that [the students'] safety would perhaps be in jeopardy," said Nichols.
Along with the SurvIvies handout, Nichols says he will be giving students Security wristbands. The wristbands, which come in four colors and replace the popular reflective snap bracelets, have the telephone numbers of Security and the Bowdoin Shuttle—with the added benefit of glowing in the dark.
All in all, Nichols wants students "to have a good time and be safe."
Nichols noted that he and the security staff "enjoy Ivies as well. I don't look at Ivies with dread. I look at it as an opportunity for the community to come together in some really good ways."