 "Photo: THE REVIEW/Justin Maurer")
In an attempt to regulate events like last Saturday's Chapelfest, Newark City Council passed an ordinance strengthening laws regulating public gatherings on Monday.
The new regulations specify that a social gathering is not considered private if more than 150 persons are expected to attend. A clause stating violators could be evicted was removed from the ordinance before council voted on it.
Prior to voting on these amendments, council members briefly discussed Chapelfest. Many council members made a point to recognize the police officers who covered the event.
Councilman Stu Markham commended the police force's response to Chapelfest.
"I spent about four or five hours out there with the chief and the police," Markham said. "I did want to compliment them on being prepared even though it was an unofficial, unsanctioned, unpermitted event."
Paul Tiernan, chief of the Newark Police Department, said approximately 45 to 50 people had been arrested at Chapelfest this past weekend. Half were students and half were not.
Mayor Vance A. Funk III said he was surprised how many out-of-towners attended Chapelfest.
"As I walked up the street with all the beer cans and bottles, I was amazed with how many people didn't go to the university," Funk said. "They had traveled 30, 40, 50 miles to come to that event."
Councilman Jerry Clifton said the number of students arrested is hardly a telling representation of the behavior that occurred during the hours he spent at Chapelfest.
"I can tell you the arrest record you just heard about is not a drop in the bucket to what it could have been," Clifton said. "Many, many, many of them were given verbal warnings. So to say 42 or 50 is obviously an accurate account of what happened but it is not even close to all the irresponsible behavior, anti-social behavior that I witnessed that day."
He described a number of incidents he witnessed firsthand, including fights, public urination and attempted assaults on officers.
"It embarrassed me to be part of this town," Clifton said. "It embarrassed me to see what was going on there. I'm embarrassed that this is one of our gateways. I'm embarrassed over the entire thing and I would dare say that that party needs to be over."
He called for proactive measures in drastically altering Chapelfest.
"More so than ever, I resolve that we need to do something and I don't think cleaning up beer cans the next morning is the answer," Clifton said. "We need to change the culture that underlies all this."
He also expressed concern for the effect the event had on the community.
"It's Newark, Delaware that is near and dear to me and Newark, Delaware is what I care about - the core business community that was impacted by this, the danger that our responders were put in," Clifton said.
Tiernan said the event cost the city approximately $7,000 in overtime pay for police officers.
Funk said it was better to pay this cost in order to be preventative.
Clifton said in addition to increased police presence, a change in policy is absolutely necessary.
"It's better to get control of this where a future event can go off, as Skidfest goes off every year, where it's permitted properly, where they have the right safety measures in action," he said.
Clifton said he hopes the ordinance passed Monday will help regulate the event in the future and reiterated his belief that a more drastic change is required as well.
"This is a unique way of hopefully getting control of this," he said. "Public safety is, in my mind, the most important issue here but a secondary issue is changing the culture to some extent and having these events the way they should be carried out."
Funk said the new ordinance was a compromise that resulted as the product of discussions between a number of different groups including councilmen, Student Government Association and Greek Council.
Councilman Ezra J. Temko, who is a university graduate student, complimented all parties for coming to an agreement that pleased each side.
"I was very happy that we have improvements in front of us that all the different parties were able to agree to live with and I'm glad that in the last full week of classes we were able to have something so agreeable that the student liaison was able to leave early," Temko said.
Junior Aaron Brauner, a resident of North Chapel Street, said he is disappointed with the passing of these new ordinances.
"I think it would be awful to see it not happen again," Brauner said. "I'm living here on Chapel again next year, and I'll look forward to Chapelfest next year too."
However, he said he understands the need for regulation of the event and appreciated the increased police presence.
"The police were on the residents' side," Brauner said. "They weren't out to get us, they were only protecting us. It sucked that the party ended early but I understand why they were doing what they were doing here."
Brauner said he predicts the new ordinance will not keep the event from occurring next year, permitted or not.
"I can see how this is a direct attack on Chapelfest but I don't think it will be the end," he said. "There are so many houses with so many yards that it's nearly impossible to bust. I don't think you can stop it. You can put more cops out there, write more tickets and get more people in trouble, but how do you stop a whole street from having a party?"
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