Sextacy Clouded By Wristband Controversy

By Nolan Locke and Summer Tyler

This year's annual “Sextacy" event was surrounded by controversy as the Sextacy Committee ran out of wristbands two days before the highly anticipated two-day event. In a moment of misjudgement, members of the committee began selling guest-designated wristbands to Mandatory Student Activity Funds (MSAF) paying students at full price.

“Sextacy” is one of Purchase's annual campus legacy events. The event is hosted by Students of Caribbean Ancestry (SOCA) in conjunction with Organization for African Peoples in the Americas (OAPIA) and is hosted in The Stood.

This years Sextacy stage adjourned with a pair of giant blue "alien" legs (Photo by Avery Caldwell)

According to Purchase Student Government Association (PSGA) By-Laws, “No admission may be charged to any MSAF paying student to any event using a club, organization or service’s PSGA budget, or other PSGA monies.”

Students were instructed via social media to pick up their wristbands in Campus Center North before attending the event. Student wristbands were free, guest wristbands cost $15 for the Friday night party, $10 for Saturday, or $20 for both. Anyone who wanted to attend was required to have a wristband, otherwise they would be denied entry to the Stood.

Both SOCA and OAPIA made posts emphasizing that students should come sooner rather than later if they would like to attend, as it is possible that they may run out of wristbands.

On Thursday, the Sextacy Committee ran out of student wristbands and began selling guest bands to students.

“The wristbands themselves have set prices. Pink student wristbands were free with a More Card, while blue guest wristbands ranged from $10-$20 regardless of who was buying it,” said Tristin Casanova-Rodriguez, the president of SOCA and member of the Sextacy Committee. “At the time when the first student requested to buy the guest wristband for themself, we felt we didn’t have another option to offer. Looking back, we should’ve just ended wristband selling entirely once we ran out of student wristbands.”

Within a few hours, the sale of wristbands was shut down, and both SOCA and OAPIA released a statement on Instagram saying, “We are so sorry about the mix-up that happened today regarding wristbands. SOCA and OAPIA apologize for the incident and are working with the PSGA to reimburse students who ended up paying.”

SOCA and OAPIA's joint apology posted on Instagram (Photo via @oapiapresents)

However, the damage was already done as at least 25 students had already been sold wristbands and were left frustrated.

“A lot of people were really upset, and most people ended up leaving instead of paying,” said Isabelle Velloz, a sophomore communications major. “Since no student expected to pay, a lot of people didn’t have the money. It cost $20 for students, and at some point, I heard people calling their parents or friends asking them to send them money just so they’d be able to get a wristband.”

“I can’t believe that this even happened. It just seems ridiculous to charge students instead of just giving guest bands for free. It makes no sense to me,” said one sophomore communications major.

“This was absolutely a miscommunication,” said Jason Berry, the PSGA vice president. “The PSGA has never charged students for their own access to any MSAF-sponsored event. This is a policy deeply encoded in our constitution and bylaws. The PSGA Executives were only made aware that this was happening after the wristbands were sold, after Jessica Bullock alerted us.”

One cause for this miscommunication may be that this was the first year Sextacy was classified as a major event. This means that the event would be run by a committee specifically designated to organize and host the event.  

“This is the first year that Sextacy is a major event, so some of the expectations I had for how the event as a whole would be run wasn’t met,” said Jessica Bullock, Associate Director of Student Engagement and Involvement. “No one is at fault completely because I could of done a better job at communicating my expectations.”

PSGA President Nellie Duggan-Hass shared a similar sentiment. “This was the first year that Sextacy was officially classified as a Major Event, so there were certain expectations and adjustments to the event planning process that were new this year,” she said. “Going forward, the PSGA will be preparing written guidelines to establish these expectations and prevent further misunderstandings.”

Duggan-Hass added that steps will be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future. “We are taking the situation seriously and will be taking action internally to address concerns raised not only by the student body, but by our executive team as well.”

The PSGA has already begun to offer refunds for all students who were affected by the sale of wristbands.

“I have been working with our Coordinator of Finance, Victor, to facilitate cash refunds to eligible students,” said Duggan-Hass. “Any students who need a refund for their Sextacy wristband should reach out to us at psga.president@purchase.edu and psga.finance@purchase.edu if they have not been receiving our email communications.”