Rob Bradley
Unbeknownst to the students who threw caution to the wind last Saturday night and stormed the courts of the RBC Center in a tumultuous wave of victory, there was a great deal of planning and preparation that went into ensuring their safety that night.
Assistant General Manager for the RBC Center Larry Perkins, one of the world’s leading experts of crowd management and behavior, said he was happy with how the situation was controlled at the game.
Perkins said he is making plans with University student leadership so that he can provide information to ensure all games continue to be safe in the future.
“We just want everyone to be on the same page in understanding the underlying dangers caused by this sort of crowd situation,” Perkins said. “We just want to meet to talk about these issues.”
Perkins explained that there are many factors to consider when making arrangements to manage a crowd of this nature.
These preparations include analyzing how much alcohol has been consumed by audience members, ensuring radio communications, ample police presence and taking precautions to protect the visiting team.
Perkins said he noticed a few causes for concern at the game and he hopes an information session with students can eliminate these problems in the future.
“There were some minor issues,” Perkins said. “One of the things we want to discuss is what you should do if you should fall in a situation like this.”
Perkins said the meeting is likely to happen in the near future.
“I’ve been in contact with N.C. State Chief of Police Tom Younce and he is setting up a time to meet with the student leadership,” Perkins said.
Nick Valletta, a freshman in aerospace engineering, said he was among the students who stormed the court the night of the game and it appeared to be well organized.
“It was exhilarating,” Valletta said. “I thought the staff did a good job ushering people onto the court.”
Valletta said although he was in no danger, he noticed some individuals around him who were having some trouble.
“I was worried for the safety of some people around me who had fallen down,” Valletta said. “In the future they need to remove any kind of barricades they have blocking people from the court.”
Mark Sugimoto, a sophomore in nuclear engineering, said he enjoyed running onto the court and he felt safe the entire time.
“It was better than great, I was there to see the best game our team has ever played,” Sugimoto said. “At no time was I afraid of being trampled.”
Jiwei Zhu, a sophomore in biological sciences, said storming the court was a moment he will always remember.
“It feels fantastic, we played so well and had a great moment of victory,” Zhu said. “It’s all about unity, we aren’t a wolf, we are the Wolfpack.”
Perkins agreed that these feelings of satisfaction are what makes going to the games worthwhile.
“It’s fun and we want to support our school and the faculty and student athletes,” Perkins said. “We just want everyone to be safe.”