Blog | Video depicts open sexual activity, binge-drinking. Bikefest in Myrtle Beach? No, Coastal Carolina University.
The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and other Myrtle Beach officials have spent much time and effort since the 2014 Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Bikefest trying to convince residents that Bikefest is out of control, lawless and dangerous. One of the ways they’ve mounted the campaign was by highlighting online videos by people who say that weekend is a time to do and get away with just about anything. That’s why they’ve shown a video presentation of the worst elements of Memorial Day weekend last year to, as they say, gain public support for 2015 plans.
This is from a report in The Sun News last September:
Lynda Thomas, who organizes the Pine Lakes Estates neighborhood watch group, is showing the video to about 15 of the city’s 24 neighborhood groups on behalf of the chamber as a way to get residents to support Myrtle Beach’s plan to spend at least $1.65 million to get things under control next Memorial Day weekend.
Thomas has served on a planning committee with the chamber since shortly after Memorial Day weekend, when three people died and seven were injured in eight shootings along Ocean Boulevard. Brad Dean, president and CEO of the chamber, could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.
“You’re asking the people to foot the bill when they don’t know what they’re footing the bill for,” Thomas said, adding that most of the elderly residents in her neighborhood either leave town or avoid Ocean Boulevard on Memorial Day weekend. “They don’t have a clue what happens. They’re not on YouTube. They’re not on social media. They’re not directly involved.”
A few questions: Does the same standard apply to Coastal Carolina University, the fastest-growing four-year institution of higher learning in South Carolina?
Like the producer of a Bikefest video who said the weekend is one to do whatever you want, CCU students proudly say “It’s not college, it’s Coastal,” not only in videos but also at a basketball game that was nationally televised on ESPNU.
Is what’s depicted in these videos all there is to CCU? Should the chamber, or others, organize neighborhood meetings to show these videos to gain public support to shut down CCU, given all of the outrageous behavior, binge drinking, fighting and out-in-the-open sexual activity?
Or is it possible the videos are of selective activities to please a particular audience and that the reality is a lot more nuanced?
There have been drug arrests during Memorial Day weekend, and drug arrests at Coastal Carolina University.
There have been shootings during Memorial Day weekend, and people have been killed at CCU.
Bad things happen just about everywhere, and sometimes things get out of control when young people are simply trying to have fun.
Why is that so easy to remember when it comes to CCU and the University of South Carolina football games but forgotten when the discussion turns to Bikefest?
There are a ton of top-notch students at CCU who make our area proud, and there are a ton of good kids simply having good, clean fun during Bikefest, no matter what kind of video is produced, or for whatever reason.
I’ll make this suggestion again: Let’s focus on solving problems wherever they are, including those during Memorial Day weekend. But it’s important to keep things in perspective if our real goal is to make things better, not worse.
This story was originally published February 20, 2015 at 9:19 AM with the headline "Blog | Video depicts open sexual activity, binge-drinking. Bikefest in Myrtle Beach? No, Coastal Carolina University.."