Due to recent complaints and traffic issues, the Office of Student Activities and Student Union has decided to move vendors off of The Set on Fridays.
During Monday night’s senate meeting, the new interim director of OSUA, Mickey Clayton, said the department made the decision because of faculty complaints about the noise and atmosphere “Set Fridays” create.
The Set on Fridays is like walking into a mall. There are always street vendors trying to sell passersby the latest CD, Tupac T-shirt or Gucci purse.
Some people have complained that “Set Fridays” are not conducive to the academic environment of the institution, Clayton said.
Clayton said there is no specific date, but “towards the end of April, the FAMU street market will be located by the Rattlers Den and the bowling alley.”
Clayton said vendors did not always sell items on the Set.
“When FAMU Fridays started, the event was held near the Rattlers Den, but as the Set became more of a popular spot with students, the Office of Student Activities decided to move the market there.”
The department’s decision for the move, Clayton said, is to bring more traffic to the bowling alley area.
“We are trying to promote more business for the bowling alley… not too many people know where it’s at.”
At the senate meeting, he said he also wants to re-open the Rattler’s Den.
Freshman education student Dominique McLaughlin agreed with the University’s decision to move the vendors.
“I think that it is a good idea to move it (the vendors) if they are trying to promote the bowling alley, because that thing needs promoting,” said the 18-year-old from Detroit.
Clayton said he is trying to spice things up by moving the market to an area where students can have fun for a “cheap price.”
“The bowling alley is a fun spot to max and relax,” Clayton said. “But it’s in a location where few students choose to hang out on a daily basis.”
Some students disagree with the decision to move the vendors because they believe moving the market from the Set takes away the ambiance of the popular hangout.
Brandi Hunt, 19, a first-year journalism student from Detroit, said there is no room for all of the street vendors to relocate to the Rattler’s Den area.
Hunt believes it would be best if the vendors stay in the current location.
The change may upset some students who have become accustomed to “Set Fridays,” but there are no plans to replace the market with any other venues at that location, the change will occur before the end of the school year.
Contact Feliece D. Turner at famuannews@hotmail.com