I'd like to give a big, resounding cheer for the most disorganized Homecoming in history.
In retrospect, I should have gone running back to Rubenstein when I saw the long line to the entrance on that welcoming, rain-soaked red carpet. Or maybe I should have known before then, when buying tickets to a semi-formal in a parking lot became a frenzied, seemingly Boston College Rally Committee-inspired experience.
I've got to give kudos to the Undergraduate Government of BC (UGBC), though, for trying to play it off like they wanted Homecoming in a giant white tent in the Mods. A great wave of amusement came over me when I read the Oct. 14 UGBC e-mail that asked the student body to "help make our first-ever on-campus Homecoming a tradition."
That was code for "Don't get drunk and hit police officers like you did last year, so this isn't our last-ever Homecoming, anywhere."
That admonition, combined with the widespread rumor that breathalyzers would be used on all students (apparently promulgated by the Office of Residential Life, which instructed RAs to tell residents that fun little story), seemed to eliminate the drunk and disorderly problem. Unfortunately, that was about the only thing that went well.
First of all, let's talk location. As pretty much anyone who attended Homecoming pointed out, the Mod parking lot is not conducive to classy events - especially those held in the rain. A rain location, like Conte Forum, would have helped immensely.
I realize a parking lot was the last place the UGBC wanted the dance and that other on-campus locations were nixed by the administration, giving our student representatives little time to prepare, but come on. My sixth grade Valentine's dance was planned better.
The lack of space in that tent led to elbows flying at heads, girls with 5-inch stilettos stomping on my flip flop-clad feet, and my roommate wiping out three times on the dance floor - she has bruises.
And don't even get me started on the coat check, or lack thereof. For those of you who weren't there, it was "self-serve," which apparently meant anyone could serve themselves a helping of my prized possession - my rather expensive long black fur-collared coat - and take it home with them as a party favor.
My beloved coat wasn't the only thing to walk away from the dance. Kristen Dunkel, CSOM '07, and a friend of hers filed police reports about their missing coats Sunday morning and haven't heard anything since.
"We went to leave around 12 and didn't find [our coats]. We searched for a half hour," she said. "We were both upset because they were expensive North Face jackets that cost a lot of money.
"[My friend's] cell phone was in the pocket of her coat ... so she called her cell to see if the person who took her jacket would pick up," Dunkel said. "A girl who answered said she found the phone alone on the second floor of Walsh. We went over, got the phone, and proceeded to knock on every single door on the second floor of Walsh, to no avail."
What I want to know is this: If tickets cost $20, and 1,500 tickets were sold, where did that $30,000 go? Clearly, it didn't go to security. It didn't go to amenities (as evidenced by students running through a rainstorm to get to Port-A-Potties situated on the other side of the parking lot). I think it's safe to say that this was one of the biggest wastes of money in UGBC history.
"I was not there for $20 worth of time or enjoyment," said Melissa Di Pietro, CSOM '06, who stayed at the event for 20 minutes before leaving. "I'm really disappointed that my last Homecoming experience at Boston College had to end up like this."
Be the first to comment on this article!