UCF Accuses Sentinel Of Misleading Reporting on Tailgating, SGA’s Stance
Football, News, UCF SGA — By Staff on February 18, 2010 at 9:00 amUpdate: SGA did respond by confirming it did not ask the Sentinel to retract it’s story. A reason why was not given. We will upload SGA’s entire e-mail response as soon as we can.
THURSDAY UPDATE: SGA has so far refused to respond to our public records request we put on Wednesday in for the following:
- Any email SGA received from a student or alumnus regarding their
feedback on tailgating at UCF.
- A copy of any surveys, polls, questionnaires, or similar devices,
and their results, SGA may have used to determine student’s feelings
on these topics.
- Even if SGA doesn’t maintain a copy of the records from the meetings
like agendas, minutes, we request any electronic documents SGA may
maintain, including email summaries from Harms’ committee, which may
include agendas, minutes, plans, discussion, things of that nature
regarding game day planning meetings — specifically on the issue of
tailgate start times and the open container policy.
Prior to this request, SGA President Brian Peterson stated we should contact UCF administrator Al Harms for game day minutes, however, KnightNews.com put in the request to SGA, to see if the documents are kept in SGA’s custody as well.
KnightNews.com will update this story if and when SGA responds to our request for the above documents.
WEDNESDAY UPDATE: The Orlando Sentinel stands by its story. See Orlando Sentinel Sports reporter Iliana Limón’s response here.
TUESDAY UPDATE: SGA and UCF leaders are disputing the Sentinel’s story suggesting SGA leaders encouraged UCF administrators to keep the Memory Mall tailgating lot shutdown until noon for 6 p.m. football games, and allow the wealthiest alumni who donate at least $1,000 to the university to start tailgating at 8 a.m.
Earlier today, we e-mailed SGA’s top leaders asking how they decided students wouldn’t want to tailgate before noon. In a response from SGA President Brian Peterson, he denied SGA pushed for that, although he admitted SGA leaders “did share the opinion that some students have expressed to us that they do not mind the new tailgating times as were laid out for this past season’s games, as it allows them to sleep in later on gameday while still providing them the opportunity to secure a spot on memory mall on days where games begin at 6pm or later.”
We are still working to find out exactly how SGA came about the information that “some students” expressed how they don’t mind the new tailgating restrictions.
Tomorrow, we will put in a public records request to all SGA officials for any e-mails from students saying that they “didn’t mind” the new start times, or anything to that effect. We will also try and find out from SGA whether they polled students, took surveys, or used any other means of soliciting student input to present to this panel of administrators before the decision was made.
Late Tuesday night, we also e-mailed Orlando Sentinel Sports Reporter Iliana Limón, who wrote the original story UCF is questioning, for her side of the story. If and when we get a response from her, we will post it here.
KnightNews.com is committed to getting to the bottom of this bizarre situation. We requested the minutes and agenda of these tailgating committee meetings from SGA, but Peterson suggested SGA did not keep the records in his response. We will update you if we are able to get the records.
Click here to read SGA President Brian Peterson’s full response.
Click here to read the e-mail from UCF Spokesman Chad Binette accusing the Sentinel of reporting “misleading information.”
ORIGINAL STORY 12:15 p.m. Tuesday
SGA Says Students Don’t Want Tailgating Before Noon
One year after UCF faced a storm of controversy for banning tailgating before noon, alumni have won back their choice to tailgate starting at 8 a.m. for every single game.
Students, however, won’t be allowed to start tailgating until noon for many games, and UCF told the Orlando Sentinel, SGA is the reason for that.
“The tailgating changes were made by a UCF committee that includes members of student government, the alumni association, game-day security, the Golden Knights Club and community members,” according to the story broken by the Orlando Sentinel.
Chad Binette, a UCF spokesman, said that the student government wanted to make sure students didn’t have to get up 8 a.m. for a game that kicks off at 8 p.m. in order to reserve a tailgating space on Memory Mall, the paper reported.
“We tried to be fair to everyone, giving donors a place to tailgate early and students a space to tailgate later,” he told the Sentinel.
KnightNews.com has e-mailed the top leaders in SGA: President Brian Peterson, Vice President Andrick Lewis, Chief of Operations Mike Kilbride and Speaker of the Senate Patrick Stauffer to find out more about how this decision was made.
Here’s what we asked on your behalf:
Can you please let us know who in SGA has attended these committee meetings?
How SGA decided that students wouldn’t want the option to start tailgating before noon?
We also asked that the top SGA leaders please forward us a copy of any minutes or agendas or SGA reports/e-mails discussing these game day committee meetings which recommended the changes.
KnightNews.com will update this breaking story when we hear back from SGA.
If you have further questions about this major change to tailgating rules, please comment below or e-mail us at new@knightnews.com so we can ask your leaders on your behalf.
To read the full story from the Orlando Sentinel, click below:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/knights/os-grid-ucf-tickets-0210-20100209,0,4082607.story
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15 Comments
As a UCF alum – this website is an embarassment. I hate the Sentinel as much as the next UCF fan – for a variety of good reasons – but that article you talk about has a QUOTE from a UCF official. That’s who you should be going after.
Stop making our school look stupid.
WHAT!!!! a choice for those who want to tailgate at 8:00. That’s BS. You can only choose to tailgate at 8:00 if you also choose to pay $1000. What a BS article.
I’ve read both the email and the quotes. THEY TOOK NOTHING OUT OF CONTEXT, THEY DIDNT CAHNGE THE MEANING OF ANYTHING. That is a false claim, done by those in sga trying to protects this years administration image. I do agree the headline is very provocative but if you read the article they are fair. ALSO KNIGHTNEWS IS POSTING THE ENTIRE EMAIL RESPONSE. not many news organizations actually post the entire response from their sources.
besides the point holding adminsitration accountable and asking TOUGH QUESTION IS WHAT MEDIA IS SUPPOSE TO DO. Some people in sga think, that anytime sga is questioned, they are beign attacked by tabloid like media. that is ridiculous and outrageous, not every article needs to sing praises of SGA, in fact if any news media does then i question the liberty and intergrity of the press and that source
Im confused. These comments are saying its out of context but I read the email and then the story and it seems pretty much inline? Whats out of context?
Anyway, THIS SUCKS. I find it so unfair that these alumni who donate money (over a certain amount no less) get to tailgate when they want. I dont care if there are certain students who dont want to wake up early to reserve a spot, because im a student who WANTS TO WAKE UP EARLY AND TAILGATE. I was a freshman when the stadium opened and that was incredible – we were out there at 630am for the Houston game, and that was the best energy I have ever been a part of in my life. EVERYONE was showing spirit, it was a huge game, and the weeks after matched in tailgating. But the next year everything went downhill. I MISS IT. People are confused why we dont have good school spirit, its because OUR SCHOOL DOESNT LET US SHOW IT.
I read Peterson’s e-mail then I read your story and you took his quotes completely out of context. I assume anyone commenting otherwise works for KnightNews because if you read the e-mail (kinda lengthy but detailed) you will see how they are skewing this just to get the quotes they wanted to try and make Peterson look bad.
Y’all should be sued.
Knightnews.com has done it again. They’ve taken Peterson’s statements and made them out to be something they are not. I suggest reading what he actually said. Nice job, tabloid POS of a news source!
“I think 6 hours is plenty, and I hate taking my only opportunity to catch up on sleep, only to get to campus to find the majority of tailgaters completely wasted and passing out at noon”
Seriously? GTFO with that. There are only 6 or 7 home games a year, don’t give me that catch up on sleep crap. And majority of tailgaters completely wasted and passed out at noon? You’re clearly nothing more than a troll.
Although I hate commenting on these things, I have to reveal myself as a student that doesn’t mind waiting until noon to tailgate. I think 6 hours is plenty, and I hate taking my only opportunity to catch up on sleep, only to get to campus to find the majority of tailgaters completely wasted and passing out at noon, 6 hours before the game. I’m all for drinking at the tailgate, but it seems like less people are overdoing it and getting hurt when their debauchery is limited to 6 hours. Just my honest opinion, though I never spoke to SGA about it.
Money talks and bullshit (and students) walk!
It’s good to be King. Get over it!
I’ll have a beer in the Club while you whine in the stupent’s sectins!
SGA would never do such a thing, I know this because I tailgate with people in SGA every game!
I do think it is odd that people with money get to tailgate earlier, but such is life.
We move on and enjoy what we are given.
Go Knights! (Can’t wait for an amazing 10′ football season)
alumknight is 100% correct. This whole policy is complete BS and a complete slap in the face to all students and alumni that want to tailgate and have a good time on OUR Memory Mall before noon. They tell the students they’re doing it “for them” so that the mall doesn’t fill up early and they tell the alumni they’re doing it to crackdown on drunk and rowdy students. It’s all a load of crap and nothing more than an overreaction to the USF game in 2008. Unreal!
It is NOT true that “alumni have won back their choice to tailgate starting at 8 a.m. for every single game.” Only GKC donors of $1,000 or more can tailgate early, as the parking lots associated with this donor level are the only ones that will be open (essetially the lots closest to the stadium). Any donor below that amount will still need to wait until their lot opens (this includes all D and C lots, which are comprised of many donors under the $1,000 mark). Please keep fighting your fight. Also, try to see who else attends these meetings besides SGA, as it doesn’t seem legal for the university to have shady, unannounced meetings (according to sunshine laws) with unknown attendees. This whole thing stinks of a backroom deal where the university gets what they want (no early tailgating) while paying lipservice to students, alumni and boosters. No one but Dr. Hitt and Admiral Harms wants shorter tailgating. They will blame it on people causing problems, but they don’t realize that it isn’t the length of the tailgate, but the non-enforcement of the rules already in place. They are being lazy and punishing the donors, students and alumni instead!