Provo officials considering tougher restrictions after maskless dance party
A screenshot of a video posted to Instagram by the party company Young/Dumb shows a DJ performing at an Aug. 7, 2020, party in Provo.
A screenshot of a video posted to Instagram by the party company Young/Dumb shows attendees dancing at an Aug. 7, 2020 party in Provo.
A screenshot of a video posted to Instagram by the party company Young/Dumb shows attendees dancing at an Aug. 7, 2020 party in Provo.
An Instagram by the Provo-based party company Young/Dumb advertises a party held on Aug. 7, 2020 party in Provo.
Provo city officials are considering implementing stricter public health guidelines and requirements after a video showed hundreds of college students at an “underground dance party” in Utah County who weren’t socially distancing or wearing masks.
The Provo-based company Young/Dumb hosted the Aug. 7 back-to-school dance party at Bill’s Warehouse in Provo, though the exact location wasn’t announced until the day of “to avoid people trying to squash our party.”
“We have complied with all City Codes and will take safety precautions, by providing hand sanitizer, water, soap, and other necessities,” organizers wrote on social media on July 27. “We will also limit the amount of people allowed into the party.”
Video of the party shows hundreds of students and young adults dancing, jumping and laughing in a crowded dark room as neon lights flash and a DJ performs in the background. None of the attendees shown in the 2-minute video were wearing masks.
Utah County is currently in the “low risk” phase of Gov. Gary Herbert’s Utah Leads Together plan, during which Utahns are encouraged to wear masks or face coverings “in settings where other physical distancing measures are difficult to maintain.”
The lack of social distancing and mask-wearing at the party — both of which are strongly encouraged by state health officials during the COVID-19 pandemic though not legally required in Utah County — prompted criticism, both on social media and from elected officials.
Provo Municipal Council Chairman George Handley called the event “concerning and disconcerting” and said city officials would consider implementing stricter restrictions, such as a city-wide mask mandate, during their Aug. 18 work session to prevent similar events from taking place in the future.
“There are a lot of people that are just terrified of a mask mandate and don’t want us to do that,” Handley said in an interview Friday. “But if we can’t get better compliance from people, then we’re going to have to give more serious consideration to that.”
Handley added that he and other city officials “don’t really know what our options are legally” and had asked the legal department “to look into how a regulation might work.”
“So I don’t know what we’re going to come up with,” said Handley. “We don’t relish the opportunity of being overly forceful, but if people can’t understand why an event like that is inappropriate, then we’re going to have to signal in a stronger way that it is.”
Kwaku El, a Brigham Young University senior and co-founder of Young/Dumb, defended the decision to hold the event, noting that “there is no mask mandate in Provo” and that the “atmosphere read that gatherings were okay.”
“The (Spanish Fork) Rodeo, Farmers Market, Waterparks (Seven Peaks and Lagoon), Latin Dance Club, Country Swing Dance, Little league baseball … and BLM protests all happened before our party,” El wrote in a statement on Thursday. “Given the push toward comfortability of large gatherings, and upcoming Fall semester, Young/Dumb felt safe to throw an event.”
Federal health officials experts, including National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, have said the risk of coronavirus transmission is significantly higher indoors than outdoors.
“I was very disappointed that the organizer didn’t seem to understand that the risks are much higher when you are indoors to when you are outdoors,” Handley said. “He was citing other examples of things that have been allowed in the valley and in Provo, all of which were outdoors. And not all of which were necessarily things I would like to see, either. But to cite bad behavior elsewhere to justify his own bad behavior, I thought, was poor moral thinking.”
El could not be reached for comment as of Friday.
Tyler Plewe, director of the Utah County Health Department’s environmental health program, said in an interview Thursday that the size of the party was within state guidelines, which limit indoor events at arenas and wedding venues to 3,000 individuals or fewer.
But, added Plewe, “the important thing with those events, even if they are going to have 3,000 people, is that they physically distance and maintain that wherever feasible at the event. And if they can’t, then they need to wear face coverings.”
The guidelines state that event organizers must ensure “physically distancing is still promoted and maintained wherever feasible” and that “face coverings are worn by individuals at the event when physical distancing is not possible.”
“I wasn’t there, but from the pictures, it looks like … there could be some discussion of whether those (guidelines) were being maintained,” said Pewe.
Despite criticisms, the party organizers say they intend to hold another event next month. Young/Dumb posted a flyer on Instagram Thursday advertising a “Back to School Neon Dance Party” that will take place somewhere in Provo on Sept. 4.
“The Utah Department of Health and Provo Police Department have made clear that our event did not violate any laws,” El said in his statement. “Of course not. It’s a dance party for some college students.”
Legality aside, Handley, who is also a humanities professor at BYU, said he was disappointed by the behavior of the party’s organizers and attendees.
“The entire project of keeping everything open, including public schools and businesses, depends on this community taking this seriously so that we can continue to operate,” Handley said. “Our public schools are counting on this city and the community to help so that the rates of infection can remain low enough so they can remain open. So I expect more from BYU students. I know this population well, and I expect more than what I saw. I’m very disappointed.”
