Campout denied

When the football team released its 2014 schedule last semester, one game stood out to junior accounting major Matt Haring and senior operations major Alex Shupe: a Friday night game against nationally ranked Baylor broadcasted on ESPN.

“Alex was like, ‘I’m so fired up for this game, we’re going to camp out in front of the stadium,’” Haring said. “Next thing you know, we started telling people that, and they were like, ‘That’s a good idea.’”

Haring and Shupe planned an overnight campout for students outside UB Stadium for Sept. 11, the night before the Baylor game. But their wishful plans were shot down when they learned a campout is against UB’s rules.

“It’s a pretty big bummer, but nothing we can do I guess,” Haring said.

Originally, they planned the campout in conjunction with a True Blue and UB Athletics’ outdoor event at Baird Point the night before the game. The event is still going to take place, but the campout is canceled. The night kicks off at 6 p.m. with pizza and wings, a pep talk by Quinn and a 10 p.m. screening of Remember the Titans on an inflatable screen.

On Tuesday afternoon, when Student Life, True Blue and UB Athletics officials met with Haring and Shupe to discuss Thursday night’s festivities, Student Life representatives told the students that the campout can’t take place because it’s against school rules.

The University’s Student Code of Conduct states under Article 4B that “No overnight demonstrations/assemblies are allowed” and “Indoor and outdoor encampment are prohibited.”

The policy against overnight encampments was created two years ago, according to Student Life Director Thomas Tiberi. Tiberi said the policy is for general “public assembly rules.”

In August, the Bulls fans created a Twitter account, @CampOut4Baylor, which, as of Tuesday night, had 222 followers. Haring and Shupe even handed out event flyers in classrooms on Tuesday morning. They expected a 40 to 50 people to campout.

Haring and Shupe had planned to set up tents along the walkway to UB Stadium. They were going to organize recreational activities like football, corn hole and grilling.

Haring thought the campout would spark student interest in the game. If enough people showed up, he thought, maybe head coach Jeff Quinn “will come by and say, ‘Hey, thanks for coming out,’ and shake some hands, kiss some babies.”

Tiberi said Student Life first heard about the plan for the campout on Sept. 4. Student Life could not approve or prohibit the campout until it knew all the details and Tuesday was the first day all parties could meet, according to Tiberi.

Haring was surprised by the decision to disallow the campout. Haring said True Blue President Kyle Conte, a student, emailed him on Sept. 5 and said, “I’ve gotten pretty good answers. Basically, it’s a yes.”

Conte could not be reached for comment on this story.

Haring and Shupe were also confident the campout would be allowed because of the support they received on Twitter from UB Athletics.

“We didn’t know who to get a ‘yes’ from,” Shupe said. “We didn’t know who to get any answers from. But then we had re-tweets from Danny White.”

Several UB Athletic Twitter accounts follow @CampOut4Baylor. White once re-tweeted them. But Haring and Shupe didn’t realize that UB Athletics didn’t have the final say on approving the campout.

Haring and Shupe only spoke to True Blue about adding a campout to Thursday night’s festivities and never spoke directly to UB Athletics, they said.

The students hoped the campout would display Bulls fans’ passion on ESPN’s cameras.

“Danny White, he always says we want big-time college atmosphere here, which is tough to do,” Harring said. “Sometimes it’s tough getting students to go the game so that’s why we figured we’d something to spark some interest, make it a big-time college field, have some fun with it.”

Penn State and Syracuse University, on the other hand, allow campouts on their campuses.

Syracuse students can set up tents outside the Carrier Dome the night before basketball games to get tickets and better seats. Syracuse’s official student section, Otto’s Army, regulates the campouts along with Syracuse Athletics and the Carrier Dome staff.

"We have a list system, a set of rules and regulations in place so everyone who is camping out is doing it the right way,” said Otto’s Army President Sean Fernandez. “Nobody has anything in their tent that they shouldn’t have.”

Public safety officers go around to tents to make sure everyone is safe, and move students inside the dome if the temperature outside becomes too cold, Fernandez said. Up to four people are allowed in each tent, and at least one person must be present in the tent at all times. Otto’s Army e-board conducts a role call, and if someone is missing, he or she has 15 to 20 minutes to return. If the student doesn’t return, he or she has to move to the back of the line.

Despite other school’s allowing stadium campouts, Tiberi doesn’t see UB’s policies changing for future events.

Haring still plans on attending Thursday night’s event.

“I’ll probably come for a little bit just because it’s still an event, just altered,” Haring said. “I don’t know if I’ll stay late though.”

email: sports@ubspectrum.com