The vote was unanimous, which CUSG vice president of external affairs Brooks Kanski sees as significant.
"It was passed without any objections," he notes. "Now, the resolution can be a starting point to a larger conversation we're looking forward to having with the student body."
Right now, the resolution, which is expected to be formally approved after a second reading next week, is simply a statement of purpose, sans any references to where the 4/20 bash might take place if not on campus, and how such a transition can be accomplished -- the keys to making it happen. But Kanski doesn't see that as a deal-breaker at this point."We're having conversations with the administration," he says, "and we're really pleased with the partnership we've formed with them over the past few months to address this. From here, we'll be getting more students' input and proceeding with conversations on the administrative level to figure out what we've got to do to have this removed."
Judging by a Wednesday night student forum about 4/20, enrollees appear to be split on whether such a move is necessary -- and passions run high among people on both sides of the issue. One speaker who wants 4/20 to stay put accused opponents of being "rich, trust-fund assholes." Yet plenty of students voiced fears that the value of their degree is diminished by CU's reputation as Weed Central -- an image underscored yesterday, when the university was named the druggiest college in the country in a Daily Beast/Newsweek survey.
Kanski admits that CUSG has more outreach to do. "We have to broaden our scope to not just the few conversations we've had so far, but engaging with the whole student body to see what we need to do. And one of the great things that came out of the forum on Wednesday night was that we got a slew of e-mails from a number of individuals expressing their interest in taking action and being leaders, whether they're pro-4/20 or anti-4/20.
"Over winter break, we'll have conversations with those individuals," he adds, "and when we return in January, the speed will really intensify."
And so will the pressure to figure out a specific strategy before April 20 rolls around.
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More from our Follow That Story archive: "4/20 in Boulder: CU regent wants to ban event due to $50,000 cost of protecting 'outsiders.'"
