Large posters around the school claiming that NBC star and South alumnus BJ Novak would attend the tomorrow’s Sophomore Sleepover are inaccurate and were intended to attract attention to the event. According to class officer Sydney Morin, Novak will not be coming to the sleepover.

“[The sophomore class officers] did try, we actually tried really hard, but [Novak’s agency] never responded, so as of right now he is not coming,” Morin said. Questions were raised as to why posters were advertising Novak’s appearance when his attention was never certain. “We just wanted to grab people’s attention,” Morin said.

Novak, a former Roar editor in chief, is currently an actor and writer for the hit NBC series “The Office .”

Initially, the possibility of Novak making an appearance was a rumor that turned into a joke.

“[The sophomore class officers] were at first … joking, like, ‘This is ridiculous; this couldn’t happen,’” Morin said. Then, some of the officers attempted to contact Novak by finding his booking information off of his MySpace page. However, e-mails that the officers sent never received responses.

Sophomore class oficer Alex Lyon, on the other hand, knows the NBC star through his parents, who are family friends with Novak’s parents. Lyon was in direct contact with Novak’s brother, who said that Novak might be able to come to the Sleepover while he was in Newton.

The news that the posters were mostly a publicity stunt has received a range of reactions from students.

“It’s just very disappointing that [the sophomore class officers] think they have to tell us that a star is coming to Sophomore Sleepover to get us to come. It made people angry,” sophomore Laura Haime said.

Sophomore Jake Light is indifferent.

“I don’t watch ‘The Office,’” Light said. Light also said that he still plans on attending the Sleepover, and that the publicity around Novak has not influenced his decision.

An anonymous sophomore criticized the class officers for not making it clear that Novak would not actually be in attendance.

“[The class officers] should not have started it as a joke, and if they did start it as a joke, then they should have made it clear that it was just a joke,” the sophomore said.

Though Novak will not be present, there will be a surprise “BJ presentation,” according to Lyon. “I think it’s a little insane and awesome that B.J. and the Sophomore Sleepover has gotten so much hype, and I think the majority of kids have realized that unfortunately after much persistence he can not attend and will proceed to enjoy the amazing night we have planned for them,” Lyon said.

Officers hoped to get the sleepover back on track this year after problems in planning in last year.

Sophomore officers last year opted to cancel the sleepover and plan a separate event instead of limiting the number of hours the event would last. The separate event ran into planning difficulties.