D2D offers insight on info error

By: Alise Jarmusz – Staff Writer

By May 6, 2014, University of Dayton students will have made their annual migration to Florida for this year’s Dayton 2 Daytona trip. However, confusion over student eligibility has been added to the mix of emotions surrounding the 37th trip to the Sunshine State.

On Dec. 23, the D2D committee stated via Twitter there had been a misunderstanding and that most sophomores will be unable to go to Daytona despite their earlier claims. Scott Bridwell, a senior mechanical engineering major and executive director of D2D, said the confusion occurred when rules from the UD’s administration were interpreted incorrectly.

“From the beginning, the wording [of the rules] was very ambiguous. The way the wording was defined, it could have meant a student needed to have 60 credit hours by the end of either the fall or spring semester,” Bridwell explained.

Jude Guerra, a senior finance and entrepreneurship major and executive director of the trip, said they presented their interpretation of the rules but did not include a deadline for students.

“We presented at SGA, and when we spoke, we presented it as: if you have 60 credit hours, you could go. But the underlying failure was [60 credit hours] by when. What is the deadline?” Guerra said.

Guerra said over Christmas break, university administration cleared up their wording, defining students eligible to go as: full-time students with 60 credit hours completed by January 2014.

Both Bridwell and Guerra stressed the rules never changed; however, the vagueness of the wording created miscommunication between themselves and university administration.

“The whole time it has always been the case that sophomores wouldn’t be able to go [to Daytona]. But, who qualifies as a sophomore was the question,” Guerra said.

The committee issued a tweet the same day expressing their apologies for the miscommunication, saying “We are truly sorry. We’ve worked hard to represent the student body, especially the sophomores, and we never intended for this to happen,” according to the @dayton2daytona page.

Matthew Franklin, a sophomore marketing and entrepreneurship major, said he understands the university’s concerns about safety, especially after the events that occurred on the last St. Patrick’s Day. However, he does not agree with the measures the administration is taking to fix problems.

“Many sophomores, myself included, work as hard as the upperclassmen and prove ourselves to be responsible,” Franklin said. “It’s sad that I won’t be able to celebrate a successful year with my friends or say goodbye to the senior class [in Daytona].”

Bridwell and Guerra said although the confusion over rules has been somewhat difficult to deal with, the D2D committee has been busy planning a fun trip.

Guerra explained even though the organization’s budget will take a hit from the lack of sophomore sign-ups, they plan to make up the difference through the increase in the trip’s price.

In terms of performances planned for this year, Bridwell and Guerra said students seem to be leaning toward the electric dance music, country and pop genres.

“As of right now, we won’t know who we can afford as an artist until people start signing up,” Guerra said.

Bridwell said they cannot release any possible names, but he promised that this year will live up to expectations.

“If you have the chance to go, make sure to sign up. It’s going to be a great year down there,” Guerra said.

Any sophomores who have questions about their individual eligibility can email the D2D committee at dayton2daytona@gmail.com.