What’s Up With the News 8 Van?

Reported quote from the incident report: “Wesleyan student removed from the 6th floor for riding the dinosaur.”

If you’ve recently braved the chilly wintry air to get a snack from Weshop before commencing your diligent studies, you may have noticed a conspicuous white News 8 van perched on the corner of Church and Pine. It’s not every day that our little campus generates local news attention, so the media presence may cause some people to worry. But the answer shouldn’t be much of a surprise:

Was just approached by an abc news woman wanting to know what happened at senior cocktails. #FuckOff

— Julio (@J_C_Angel) February 18, 2013

And when I didn’t tell her anything, she sarcastically said: “rumors don’t travel fast enough around here?”

— Julio (@J_C_Angel) February 18, 2013

On Friday, the third Senior Cocks event came to an abrupt halt when the senior class was kicked out of the Connecticut Science Center in Hartford. (Haven’t heard the story? Catch up here and here.) Apparently the scandal has generated so much attention that News 8, based in New Haven, has stopped by to talk to seniors and grab some video shots of our frigid lovely campus. The news van’s been busy, having already visited the museum to talk to employees and gather their side of the story before coming to Wes. The reporter whom I spoke to wasn’t entirely forthcoming with her goals, but I gathered that even she was uncertain whether or not the science center would be pressing charges against Wesleyan.

As to why News 8 decided to cover this story, it seems that the event has generated enough of a buzz on Wesleyan’s campus to be reported elsewhere. Furthermore, my interviewee mentioned “property damage” suffered by the Center, as well as the general news-worthiness of destructive Wesleyan students hopped up on science and “Senior Cocks” (a phrase she uttered with a small hint of incredulity).

As we parted ways, the reporter assured me that they weren’t “going to report on every Wesleyan party, but this one happened at a historical museum.” And I must say, what a relief that is.

Editor’s note: Click here for a small taste of the Connecticut Science Center’s “incident report.” We’re attaching a bounty of a $25 La Boca gift card to anyone who can leak us the full report, and we’re totally not joking.