Hanover town manager Julia Griffin, in a meeting with the Greek Leadership Council and the 2008 Class Council members earlier this term, announced that if students do not attempt to secure the required permits, the state would pass legislation before the end of its term to make congregation on a state waterway illegal without a permit.
In previous years, though students did not have event permits, local police were unable to prosecute participants because no entity, including the College, officially sanctioned the event. Without a responsible body to blame, authorities had to look the other way when students flocked to the river.
If the threatened legislation passed, however, all students participating in Tubestock could be arrested for illegally congregating on a state waterway.
One primary stipulation for obtaining event permits will be an insurance policy covering all four entities -- Norwich, Hanover, the state of New Hampshire and the College. The wide range of coverage was essential, Griffin said, as the likelihood is that any lawsuit related to Tubestock would probably attack all four jurisdictions.
Because the Greek Leadership Council, the student group that traditionally plans Tubestock, will likely be unable to afford an insurance policy by the summer, members of the GLC and the 2008 Class Council are skeptical about Tubestock's occurrence during the upcoming sophomore summer.
"They think one year is the amount of time it is going to take to get everything in place," council treasurer Adam Levine '08 said of the changes the town wants to see.
To secure the necessary $2 million insurance coverage, the GLC has the option of buying an insurance policy from a broker -- an option that typically costs $250 to $500 for community events such as street fairs, but could cost "tens of thousands of dollars" due to the unsafe nature of Tubestock, Griffin said.
Instead of fundraising and purchasing an insurance certificate privately, the GLC is exploring the possibility of having the College add Tubestock to its insurance premium or pay for a separate policy, according to GLC moderator Taylor Cornwall '06.
Hank James, director of integrated risk management and insurance, and GLC members are waiting for Pinnacle, the College's primary insurance carrier, to return an estimate of the cost for insuring Tubestock.
In order for Dartmouth to pay for Tubestock insurance, however, College administrators would first need to officially sanction the event, something they have not done in the past due to the event's unsafe nature, according to both Griffin and Dean of the College James Larimore.
James told Cornwall that the existing Tubestock event would be too much of a risk or liability for the College, and significant alterations would need to occur if Pinnacle is to provide insurance.
According to Cornwall, these changes may include changing the name, banning alcohol consumption or having rafts reviewed before hitting the water. In a later interview, Griffin said in addition to alcohol, the use of large rafts would need to be prohibited altogether in order for the town to grant a permit.
Of their own accord, members of the GLC and the 2008 Class Council outlined a proposal of Tubestock changes for James to send to the College's primary insurance carrier. James expects an answer from the company "within a couple of weeks," he said.
The changes included the rental of life vests to participants, the curtailing of alcohol by using police checkpoints and changing the event's name to distance the old Tubestock from its new, proposed counterpart.
Griffin said after the GLC secures insurance and permits, the logistics of verifying sobriety before students enter the river will be a huge hurdle, one that may prevent the event from happening this summer.
"Managing the alcohol is a real challenge for this event," she said. "Before you know it, it's there being passed around the crowd."
If Pinnacle accepts the outline of changes as adequate for the College's policy, the next step will be for the College to decide whether or not to officially recognize the weekend and add Tubestock to its insurance premium. Larimore was hesitant to project when or if these steps would happen.
James is pessimistic about the chance of Pinnacle accepting Tubestock. He projects that the company will appreciate the work of students but will ultimately decide that the suggestions "are not adequate to give them a comfort level."
Griffin explained that students will need to acquire three permits because the event affects Norwich, Hanover and the State of New Hampshire, which has jurisdiction over the Connecticut River. Although she was not positive about the stipulations for the Norwich and New Hampshire state permits, she affirmed that Hanover will not grant a permit for Tubestock until there is an insurance certificate, a plan detailing the debris cleanup, a promise to end rafts and underage drinking during the event and a payment plan for the policing authorities present.
She added that the other two permits would probably have similar stipulations.
For the Town of Hanover, the rafts and the alcohol consumption are the two most troubling elements, Griffin said.
According to both Larimore and Griffin, the College played no role in starting the current Tubestock dialogue. Rather, a member of the Norwich community approached the Norwich selectboard last summer. The selectboard then scheduled a meeting at which Hanover and Norwich officials could discuss necessary changes to Tubestock.
Although the Norwich resident, Warren Loomis, was infuriated by the students' inefficient cleanup, Norwich Town Manager Stephen Soares said debris was only part of the problem.
"Although we've been very, very lucky over the years, there's still this real deep concern for the mix of water, youth and the considerable amount of alcohol, not necessarily being consumed by people that are of age," he said.
Griffin said that after almost 20 years of successful Tubestock events, last summer's drowning of an intoxicated Tuck Bridge program student on the river had some role in calling the towns to action, even though the death was not associated with Tubestock. Larimore agreed that the death probably jump-started the community's action.
Soares said that Norwich residents understood the separation between the death and Tubestock but still may associate them due to the common theme of alcohol.
The GLC and the 2008 Class Council hope to mobilize students so that the College will recognize the event and assume liability. Frank Glaser '08, public relations chair of the GLC, said that students need to show the College their interest in molding a new Tubestock if Dartmouth is to consider taking the event under its wing.
"If student interest is high enough, hopefully the College will be willing to pay the higher premium," he said. Glaser is confident that Tubestock can happen this summer.
"If the guidelines can be fulfilled in a prompt manner, then the event will take place, in a much different manner," he said.
Yet others are skeptical that enough progress can be made by this summer.
"Being somewhat pessimistic, I would say I see an empty river [this summer], particularly if the insurance piece is the bridge to hurdle," James said.
