 "Photo: Colleen Cote")
The annual boat cruise organized by the AHANA Leadership Council (ALC) rocked harder than ever on Friday night, as "Rock the Boat!" drew a sold-out crowd of 600 people, including students, faculty, and administrators.
The highly coveted tickets sold for $20 and were gone just four hours after going on sale Wednesday.
The night started with students being loaded into school buses outside Conte Forum, from which they were taken to the Charles River. The Spirit of Boston boat took off just after 11 p.m. and cruised around the harbor until the early morning.
Despite the large number of people, the night ran exceptionally well.
"The ALC boat cruise was well organized from the beginning of the night," said Bertha Lee, CSON '08. "Cops made students discard any bottles with them before entering the buses and lines were formed to get on and off the bus and boat, which kept the night in an orderly fashion, even though it took a long time."
Omolara Bewaji, ALC president and A&S '07, was also pleased with how the night went. "Everything went very smoothly, and everybody seemed to have a good time. It was good to see everyone out enjoying themselves and getting to know each other so early in the year," she said.
"I'm very pleased with the outcome," said Alexandra Angrand, ALC director of programming and A&S '06. "It was a successful event and everyone seemed to have had a really great time. Students were very cooperative, so this helped in making the boat cruise run smoothly and efficiently."
The boat included four levels, including two floors with different music. For Amanda Ang, CSOM '08, the variety of music was the best part of the night. "I was glad they decided to add some meringue and salsa music, even though I would have liked it if there was more," she said.
The cruise also included appetizers like chicken wings, meatballs, pizza rolls, chips and salsa, and drinks. "The highlight of the evening would have to be the pizza rolls. I haven't eaten those since I was a kid," said Lois Kamandulis, A&S '08.
The cruise proved to be an enjoyable evening for the freshmen experiencing the event for the first time. "The boat cruise was a blast. There was food, music, water, and fun. What more could you ask for just $20? There was such a diverse group of people on the dance floor. It was amazing," said Miriam Michalczyk, A&S '09.
Many freshman attendees heard about the event through word of mouth. Khalid Abdulla, A&S '09, heard about it from a friend the same day as the tickets went on sale, and although he was not able to get a ticket immediately, he ended up buying one from another student.
"It was fun," Abdulla said. "The food wasn't as good as the music, but I thought it was a good idea."
Although the boat cruise is sponsored by the ALC, it is open to all members of the BC community.
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