Rock the Vote, the last chapter

Three members of Students for Political and Community Action, a group created to help bring Rock the Vote to campus, and the president of the College Democrats, whose efforts to bring controversial filmmaker Michael Moore to campus were denied, met with the dean of students, vice president of student affairs and the president of public administration.

They called the meeting to help avoid future roadblocks like the ones that prevented Rock the Vote from coming here.

Dean of Students Bill Porter said part of the problem was simple logistics, and that no one on the faculty side of the Student Activities Council had ever seen such an ambitious proposal.

"(Rock the Vote) was unusual in size, and in the fact it was going to be in an arena with questions about University policy," Porter said.Porter was referring to the exclusive sponsorship deals between The University and companies like Coca-Cola, Motorola and Aramark, obligations that conflicted with some of Rock the Vote's sponsors, including Pepsi and Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

Dean Porter told The Daily Helmsman in September "it was not appropriate to host other corporate sponsors on campus" and that "The University made the full decision to cancel the event."

Porter's assessment differs from the one Curt Guenther, director of communications services, told News Channel 3 Oct. 21, when he seemed to blame sophomore political science major Stacey Luttrell.

Although Guenther acknowledged the conflict with Coke, he said "it was not the overriding factor."

"(Luttrell) worked outside the system, and expected the system to meet her demands. It could not work that way, and did not work that way," he said.

Luttrell, who is politically active in the Memphis community, said she felt humiliated by her portrayal.

"I looked like a fool," she said. Luttrell worked with SAC and Dean Porter to bring Rock the Vote to campus.

Vice President of Student Affairs Rosie Bingham said Monday, she disagreed with the notion that The U of M cancelled the event.

"We didn't cancel Rock the Vote because we didn't have a contract with Rock the Vote (to cancel)," Bingham said.

However, Bingham assured the students the administration had worked hard to make the event happen.

"I know it may be hard to believe the administration was working for you on this, but we really were," she said.

The students asked the faculty why The University had not attempted to secure a one-day exemption from Coke.Bingham said the request would create problems when it came time to negotiate a new contract.

"It weakens our bargaining position," she said.The response did not satisfy the students.

James Vandiveer, president of College Democrats, said he doubted Coke would hold a one-day exemption against The University, considering the big picture of profit possibility.

Bingham suggested that a "more transparent" system might cure some of the headaches associated with bringing events to campus.

"This is a giant bureaucracy we live in," said David Appleby, a communications professor who brought the parties together.

"It sounds to me that SAC probably put the things in motion that they needed to," Appleby said.

Luttrell said she did not think Monday's meeting moved anything forward.

"I don't think it was isolated what happened," she said. "I foresee myself being in that office again."

Senior communications major Liz Daggett said the meeting did clear up some issues for her.

Daggett said remarks such as Guenther's would likely be tempered in the future, that the meeting reflected a need to clarify contractual issues and revealed how the time schedule affected the outcome.

"It was a time issue because (the administration) sat on it," Daggett said.

Daggett said her experience would mean others wouldn't face the same hurdles when trying to bring events to The University.

"We were enough of a pain that the next time something happens they'll treat students better to avoid the hassle that was us."