Foresters' Ball to be revamped

President Royce Engstrom announced Tuesday that the Foresters' Ball must make serious changes if it is to continue at the University of Montana.

In a letter to College of Forestry Dean James Burchfield, Engstrom wrote that despite the benefits the Ball provides, like leadership opportunities, the purpose of the event is being overshadowed by inappropriate behavior.

The Foresters' Ball Committee has already begun making some of the changes Engstrom outlined in the letter, said Jonah Vaughan, a senior in forestry management who does publicity for the Foresters' Ball.

"We realize that changes are needed to make sure the Ball continues on campus," he said.

The Ball came under fire two weeks ago when its safety was

questioned at a community forum on the recent sexual assault investigation.

At that forum, Dean Burchfield said, "There will never be another event like this one on campus."

Foresters' Ball committee members quickly responded to the endangerment of the Ball, and wrote letters to Engstrom explaining its importance.

Although Engstrom wrote in the letter that he appreciated those letters, he found evidence that attendees of the Ball see it as "little more than a party with the goal being to consume as much alcohol as possible."

He wrote that he will allow the Ball to be held next year, if students involved in the planning submit a written proposal detailing how they will keep it under control.

Engstrom suggested the following as the minimum changes needed for the Ball to take place next year:

• The ball must start and end earlier.
• Inappropriate aspects, like the "Passion Pit," must be eliminated.
• The ball must be appropriate for families and young children.
• The focus of the event must be education, not a party.
• Attendance must be kept to a "manageable size."
• A clear plan must be made for keeping out people under the influence of alcohol.

But these suggestions weren't a surprise to the Ball committee, Vaughan said, as many of them were suggestions the committee proposed to Engstrom more than a week ago when they met.

Vaughan said the committee will do away with the "Passion Pit" and rid the culture of drinking from the Ball through education and increased security. They plan to educate students throughout this spring and next fall that binge drinking at the Ball won't be tolerable, he said, and that security will be run more like a Griz football game.

"That means handing out more citations like disorderly conduct and MIPs and letting students realize the financial burdens that go with binge drinking," Vaughan said.

Plans for next year's Ball also include more community involvement to make the event family friendly. And to make the focus of the event education, Vaughan said the foresters have thrown around the idea of constructing a building inside the Ball venue that speaks to that year's theme.

The foresters must submit a plan endorsed by the faculty and alumni to Engstrom before April 15. The President suggested the Forestry Scholarship Association also endorse the submitted plan. Burchfield, Provost Perry Brown and Engstrom will review the plan, submit it to the Office of Risk Management and Tort Defense and make changes as necessary until all parties agree on it.

"If we cannot come to agreement on the plan by the end of spring semester, the Ball will not happen next year," Engstrom wrote.

paige.huntoon@umontana.edu

victoria.edwards@umontana.edu