The real future of senior events

There is a particularly virulent sort of parasite called the litigation lawyer that has changed life in America, the great state of Washington and now Gonzaga University that students should make themselves familiar with if they have not already done so. This sort of lawyer is bound as much to our legal system as it is to the credo of American capitalism: "Get rich or die tryin'."

The litigation lawyer has forged lawsuits against some of our most profitable corporations, including the McDonald's boiling-lava-hot coffee spill incident, discrimination suits against Wal-Mart and suits aimed at Bernard Madoff's epic Ponzi-scheme. Closer to home, another institution that has seen the full force of this system at work is the Spokane Diocese of the Catholic Church. In January 2007 the diocese agreed to pay at least $48 million to more than a dozen victims of sexual abuse in a bankruptcy settlement. This fall the diocese was told to raise at least $800,000 to deposit in the bankruptcy trust or risk having to sell some parishes.   In all of these cases the real victims are clearly the driving force, and some closure was hopefully attained for the claimants of these cases, but there are some very local repercussions that affect Gonzaga students.

The cancellation of Gonzaga-affiliated senior events and the non-affiliated, yet affected, Around the World event certainly have a great deal to do with student misbehavior and Gonzaga's image, but I encourage students to use their core curriculum critical thinking skills and look beyond the fog of public relations to the true motivations of any American organization. I urge you to follow the money. Is Gonzaga University, an organization with an endowment worth over $120 million, going to let itself fall victim to a liability lawsuit stemming from belligerent drunkenness? Gonzaga is like a well-marinated steak in an insulated lunch-pail in the midst of  bear country. The insulation helps, but the bears are constantly on the prowl, and that pail had better stay sealed. The school is not going to associate itself with anything that would put its very foundation at risk, and for big organizations with heaps of capital, that is all too easy.

This means that senior events, if we do get them back, are going to be under the strict behest of Gonzaga's policy to validate even the most mundane actions of its clubs and events. They are not going to follow traditions and they are not going to be what we seniors have been expecting for the last four years. The same goes for Around the World.

Unfortunately, bears will eat pretty much anything when they are hungry, so it isn't just Gonzaga's endowment that is in danger; it is any one of us who wishes to stage an event free from the bounds of the University. If you throw a party at your house, you are liable. If you host Oktoberfest, you are liable. If you want to throw Around the World this year, someone is going to have the weight of the world on their shoulders. If someone gets hurt while drinking underage at your venue, you will be working at a McDonald's drive-thru for the rest of your life.

The solution to having these events in the future is a simple one. Organize them independently of the University at private venues where they already have the insurance and structures in place to handle a party. Of course, part of the allure of having Around the World in Logan in the past was the "Wild West" sort of craziness that ensued as a result of being completely student run. As alluring as it is, this idea is outdated and needs to go. If someone wants to sign their name and accept the massive amount of risk to their future, then please, come forward. Otherwise, the nature of this and similar independent student events needs to change for these events to take place.

I would love to have our senior events back and have Around the World  take place. In my view, the best route to take is to create new events, or modify the old ones, and stage them at private venues where we have the creative freedom to design them ourselves while safeguarding our present and future livelihood. The times they are a changin', and if students don't feel like adapting to the cautionary legal environment they should at least be aware so that the consequences don't come as too much of a shock.

Gonzaga altered its behavior and the students should follow suit.