The Facebook event “Selection Sunday Jump” went from 547 to more than 2,300 attendees since Feb. 7, when an article describing the event appeared in The Lantern.

However, the Ohio State officials scrapped the plans to jump in the Olentangy River or Mirror Lake during a meeting with the event creators.

The meeting consisted of representatives from the Office of Student Life, deputy chief of OSU Police Richard Morman and the event coordinators.

“We are thinking about having a viewing party at the (Schottenstein Center). It’d be catered with prizes, giveaways, a big screen and possibly a half-court shot for free tuition or something like that,” said Nate Kinkopf, a third-year in sports and leisure studies and the main organizer of the “Selection Sunday Jump.”

Morman said the meeting was successful and although Kinkopf has a lot of planning to do, he can definitely pull it off.

Student Life did not support the original proposal because of the danger of jumping into a cold body of water and because of the costliness of employing university resources.

“For the Mirror Lake jump, the university puts a lot of resources into the situation to make it less risky, including staff, volunteers and buildings opening up,” said Ruth Gerstner, the director of communications for Student Life.

The initial idea also concerned the staff at the OSU Medical Center.

“With so many people in the lake at one time, there is always the potential of drowning,” said Ann Smith, chapter director of central Ohio’s ThinkFirst. ThinkFirst is a team of healthcare executives and consultants, according to their website.

Although the original proposal was shot down, Kinkopf is pleased with the recognition. 

For more on the halted Selection Sunday Jump, read Monday’s edition of The Lantern.