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As someone who was there (in the 3rd balcony) it was seriously shocking. As dumb as it sounds, I think some people thought it was part of his act, although when

As someone who was there (in the 3rd balcony) it was seriously shocking. As dumb as it sounds, I think some people thought it was part of his act, although when he collapsed the second time, it still took about 15 seconds for someone to come to his aid. None of the 20+ staff at the auditorium came to help immediately either, which was even more shocking, since I hope that they would have some idea of what to do in a situation like that. Altogether, it was a very scary, confusing situation. I'm just glad he's alright.

karanlyons 16y ago
To clarify (and I can't believe this is what prompted me to create an account, but there you go): The first time he fainted, everyone just thought it was part of the speech. The second time, staff immediately came to his aid. This isn't some crisis with my generation or anything. It was just confusion.
- peter_and 16y ago
  Your generation == My generation Perhaps it looked different from my vantage point, but the first person to rush to help him when he fainted the second time was not a staff member of the auditorium, it was a Program Board representative (read: one of the students who organized the event) seated in one of the first few rows. I did not see one of the red shirt Bovard employees until after that student acted. I didn't intend to imply that there's a problem with our generation (as others have).
  - karanlyons 16y ago
    > I didn't intend to imply that there's a problem with our generation (as others have). And I do thank you for that. I think what happened was a rapid delineation of responsibility: The red shirted Bovard employees were ushers, and so their job was to ensure that the audience didn't become (for gross lack of a better word due to little sleep on my part) hostile. The program board member's job was to go to Bill Nye, whilst the tech staff backstage went to get chairs, water, food, and the like. Meanwhile the people in the booth were calling DPS (the on campus police force), and 911. The thing about everyone working that event is that they are all on headset. They were all no doubt following on instructions from their superiors on what was decided to be the best course of action. Whilst it may not have been the most PR friendly response, I can't help but think that having a large swarm of staff all run to Mr. Nye would be nearly as helpful as what (from the best I can tell, both from my experience as a member of the staff (I didn't work the event), and from what I heard from people who did work the event, and audience members as well) actually occurred. Honestly, I'm having a hard time figuring out why this matters to me so much. On the one hand, I know these people, I work with them regularly, and I can't possibly fathom that they just stood there and did nothing. And indeed everything I've heard from trusted sources has been the exact opposite. On the other hand, I'm annoyed that this is receiving as much attention as it is, as I don't think Mr. Nye wanted it that way (again, from what I've heard of him after the event), and I think trying to tie this incident to some sort of great failing of our generation is—frankly—ridiculous. Perhaps the most important thing I'd like to illuminate in this comment would be that there is a far greater number of staff members working any event than the ones that you see, and just because you don't see anyone doing anything doesn't mean that they aren't. Though, yeah, I can imagine it looked bad.

karanlyons 16y ago

To clarify (and I can't believe this is what prompted me to create an account, but there you go): The first time he fainted, everyone just thought it was part of the speech. The second time, staff immediately came to his aid. This isn't some crisis with my generation or anything. It was just confusion.

peter_and 16y ago
Your generation == My generation Perhaps it looked different from my vantage point, but the first person to rush to help him when he fainted the second time was not a staff member of the auditorium, it was a Program Board representative (read: one of the students who organized the event) seated in one of the first few rows. I did not see one of the red shirt Bovard employees until after that student acted. I didn't intend to imply that there's a problem with our generation (as others have).
- karanlyons 16y ago
  > I didn't intend to imply that there's a problem with our generation (as others have). And I do thank you for that. I think what happened was a rapid delineation of responsibility: The red shirted Bovard employees were ushers, and so their job was to ensure that the audience didn't become (for gross lack of a better word due to little sleep on my part) hostile. The program board member's job was to go to Bill Nye, whilst the tech staff backstage went to get chairs, water, food, and the like. Meanwhile the people in the booth were calling DPS (the on campus police force), and 911. The thing about everyone working that event is that they are all on headset. They were all no doubt following on instructions from their superiors on what was decided to be the best course of action. Whilst it may not have been the most PR friendly response, I can't help but think that having a large swarm of staff all run to Mr. Nye would be nearly as helpful as what (from the best I can tell, both from my experience as a member of the staff (I didn't work the event), and from what I heard from people who did work the event, and audience members as well) actually occurred. Honestly, I'm having a hard time figuring out why this matters to me so much. On the one hand, I know these people, I work with them regularly, and I can't possibly fathom that they just stood there and did nothing. And indeed everything I've heard from trusted sources has been the exact opposite. On the other hand, I'm annoyed that this is receiving as much attention as it is, as I don't think Mr. Nye wanted it that way (again, from what I've heard of him after the event), and I think trying to tie this incident to some sort of great failing of our generation is—frankly—ridiculous. Perhaps the most important thing I'd like to illuminate in this comment would be that there is a far greater number of staff members working any event than the ones that you see, and just because you don't see anyone doing anything doesn't mean that they aren't. Though, yeah, I can imagine it looked bad.