Kerry kegger canceled

Boston University for John Kerry canceled a “low-dollar” fundraiser that would have included alcohol, originally scheduled for last weekend, about which BU administrators raised questions.

BU for Kerry President Sam Shusterman said the club designed the event to raise money for the Democratic Party, adding that while the group’s intentions were good, the club did not plan the event wisely.

“The plan was to have a low-dollar fundraiser for John Kerry and get as many kids at the university involved as possible to energize them for the campaign,” Shusterman said Thursday. “We obviously made some inappropriate choices, and as soon as an adult came to us with concerns, the event was canceled.”

The proposed “Kegger for Kerry” would have been held at BU for Kerry Vice President Dan Hoffer’s off-campus house in Allston last Saturday evening, according to an email promoting the event obtained by The Daily Free Press. Organizers invited students from BU for Dean and BU for Edwards in an effort to bring the Democratic groups together. Hoffer said a university official called the group days before the party and expressed displeasure with the group’s decision to hold the event.

“They called us,” Hoffer said. “They just basically said, ‘You can’t do this,’ and they wanted to meet with us and that’s about it … It was canceled because the school took issue. We canceled it the second we found the school and campaign took issue with it … The school wasn’t interested in condoning such an event.”

In a March 28 email to BU for Dean members inviting them to the fundraiser, BU for Dean officials said, “In a genuine effort to reach out to our group, BU for Kerry has invited us all to a real political party. (As in, alcohol will be served.)”

Shusterman said she regrets the decision and hopes to continue fundraising in more proper ways.

“We just did not go about it in the proper way and it was an inappropriate event,” she said. “Unfortunately it has reflected badly on our student organization, on the campaign and on the university, and for that we’re sorry.”

BU spokesman Colin Riley said the university did not officially cancel the “kegger” because BU for Kerry never submitted a proposal for the event to the Student Activities Office for approval.

“There’s a process for getting events approved,” Riley said. “We don’t approve student events in a private home, in a private residence I guess. We certainly wouldn’t approve a keg party. I think it’s pretty self-evident why it wouldn’t be approved.”

According to the SAO Programming Handbook, student organizations must seek approval and fill out the necessary forms to hold off-campus events and to serve alcohol. While permission is usually not granted to undergraduate groups, organizations may request permission for restricted use of alcohol. At events in which alcohol is present, an open bar is prohibited and a chaperone must be present, according to the handbook.

BU for Kerry members will meet with university representatives next week, Shusterman said, but she added that she does not know specifically who the club will meet with or what will be discussed.

“We’ll be meeting with them next week, but we quickly dealt with their concerns,” she said. “Obviously, they’re valid concerns and for that reason we canceled the event … after next week, this should all be said and done with.”

Shusterman said BU for Kerry has had a big impact on the university community, citing the group’s growth from 10 members in September to 350 in December when Kerry was struggling prior to the Iowa Caucus. Shusterman added that she hopes the group will be able to conduct future events like when Kerry spoke at the George Sherman Union’s Metcalf Hall in front of 700 students.

“We’ve got a number of awesome events coming up that hopefully BU for John Kerry will be able to participate in … in the month of April,” Shusterman said. “That’s why this is so upsetting. We really didn’t mean for it to reflect so badly upon our group.”