PSSS Talks Pirate Party, Approves Two Clubs

Kay Bailey

She/Her

Editor-in-Chief

9/19/24

The Plymouth State Student Senate jumped back in full swing for the fall semester on Monday with their first official meeting of the year. As October approaches, PSSS made clear their first hurdle of the year: Pirate Party. PSU President Donald Birx and Plymouth Town Manager Scott Weden attended the meeting to warn of Pirate Party’s consequences.

“We’d like to not have Pirate Party,” Birx said. Last year, PSU brought Pirate Party off the streets of Plymouth and into the White Mountain Apartments neighborhood on campus, but Birx, and the University’s attorneys and insurers, were not satisfied with the results.

“We tried something last year, which was to move the party from off-campus to on-campus,” Birx said, “but we’re not going to do that this year.” Between the hospital bills, damages, and extra police presence, Pirate Party often costs more than Ski Day. Last year, Pirate Party cost $27,000, some of which came out of student fees, Birx said. 

PSU may close campus for the weekend and bar public entry, Birx said, but an official policy is not yet in place.

Weden emphasized the strain Pirate Party puts onto our local hospital. Last year, there were some 30 students hospitalized for alcohol-related issues, he said. Spear Memorial Hospital does not have the capacity for that amount of people in such a short time frame, so students have historically needed transports to Laconia and Littleton.

Birx and Weden promised an increased police presence. The town attorney and state Attorney General’s office sent letters to Barstool Plymouth and Plymvegas prohibiting any Pirate Party promotion, Weden said.

In an attempt to combat Pirate Party, the team at Student Life will be renting two coach buses to ship students down to Boston. The trip would include a visit to the Aquarium, Melina Baker explained.

At the mention of counter programming, USSB Trustee Ethan Dupuis questioned the effectiveness of alternative events without alcohol. “I don’t think sober parties actually garner any support,” Dupuis said. “There might have to be some more skin in the game from the university side of this.” Instead, Dupuis suggested PSU invite local breweries to campus, which would give PSU and police more structure for crowd control and checking IDs.

Two clubs sought official recognition from PSSS: The International Students Club and the Outdoors Club. Each was approved unanimously. Co-presidents Ronja Dahlin and Vanessa Nass presented for the International Club. Dahlin, who is Swedish, and Nass, who is Norwegian, said they created a club to function like other affinity groups on campus, like the Asian Student Union. The club will help mentor international students on anything and everything they need to get accustomed to for schooling in America, including language barriers and complicated visa processes. The club existed in an unofficial capacity last year with more than 20 actively engaged students, and hosted biweekly “International Coffee Hours.”

President Daniel Nelson and Vice President Griffin Thomson presented for the Outdoors Club, which exists in a crowded genre of club also occupied by the Outing Club, Climbing Club, and an assortment of winter and outdoor sports clubs. The Outdoors Club seeks to distance itself from similar clubs by welcoming beginners, “just learning to enjoy the outdoors and nature without having to do some big, extravagant hike,” Thomson said.