Stephen Colbert and Herman Cain storm the College.
On Friday, January 20, the College hosted Stephen Colbert and former Presidential candidate Herman Cain as part of a special segment for “The Colbert Report.” Over 5,000 students, faculty, staff, and Charleston community members attended the event held in the Cistern Yard.
Colbert’s grand entrance featured Cain’s campaign bus, the College’s pep band, Coastal Carolina’s marching band, and a local gospel choir. In order to successfully execute the event, resources from the Division of Business Affairs were called to action.
The Physical Plant’s assistance was requested Thursday evening around 6:00 p.m. in preparation for the visit. Despite short notice, no complaints were made as the Physical Plant immediately mobilized. The stage was assembled, barriers were stationed, and grounds crew worked to ensure the Cistern Yard was ready for all attendees.
Besides structural preparations, members from Environmental Health and Safety collaborated with production staff for “The Colbert Report” to assure that the stage followed safe installation and was constructed in accordance with Physical Plant location requirements on the Cistern.
The role of EHS in assisting an event like this primarily includes loss control during the process of set-up, the actual event, and breakdown. In other words, EHS identifies areas of risk or loss potential, eliminates or reduces that potential to an acceptable level, and protects the interests of the College. During the event, Randy Beaver, Director of Environmental Health and Safety, was able to monitor the safety of College employee and student participation.
Despite the efforts of many students to scale walls and buildings, no one was injured.
The Production Manager for “The Colbert Report” went out of her way to seek Beaver out following the event. She asked Beaver to let everyone know that this was, “by far one of the best activities that we have had outside of the studio.”
Many individuals across campus were involved in this event. Thank you to to Dr. Amanda Ruth-McSwain, Mike Haskins, Mike Roberts and other members of the Division of Marketing and Communication for coordinating the entire event with Colbert’s production crew. Special recognition goes to Wilfred Fields, Ben Miehe, Scott Bradley, Ron McKelvey, Mark Hane, Tony Rose, and John Cordray from the Division of Business Affairs. Direct access to the following individuals made the job easier: Tom Trimboli, Brian McGee, Randy Beaver, Larissa Alison, Steve Osborne, and President George Benson.
Everyone who participated should be proud of their involvement.
Did you miss the event? Check out a video filmed by students at the College by clicking here.