Dance Draws Complaints

Despite the noise complaints that echoed back to Boston College from the neighborhoods surrounding 1,400 undergrads donned semi-formal attire and danced, ate, and drank the night away at Saturday's annual homecoming dance.

Though the dance has been held under tents erected in the Mod lot for five years without issue, a new DJ with a taste for overly-loud bass elicited a small outcry from local residents, 50 of whom complained of booming music that lasted long into the night at an already-scheduled neighborhood association meeting Tuesday.

Tom Keady, vice president of the Office of Governmental and Community Affairs, attended the meeting to apologize on behalf of the University.

"His apology was accepted and appreciated by neighbors," said University Spokesman Jack Dunn. "For the past five years, this homecoming dance has been held on campus without incident. This year, the DJ that was hired played music at a level that disturbed some of our neighbors. We apologize for the inconvenience that the dance caused and pledge to rectify the issue for next year's dance."

The meeting, held in the basement of Roggie's, drew residents from streets as far away from BC as Monastery Road, Keady said.

"When I received calls from Cleveland Circle, I knew something was up," Keady said. "I think they appreciate that BC is trying do more events on campus. That's a plus. The downside to having events on campus is the noise issue. At one in the morning, you want to go to bed."

Amanda Paglia, director of special events for the Undergraduate Government of BC (UGBC) and A&S '11, was the sole student charged with planning the event. She said that she did receive a noise complaint during the four-hour-long dance and reacted immediately. "I knew that we got one complaint and when we got that complaint we asked the DJ to turn the music down," she said. "We turned the volume down immediately."

Despite a report by The Boston Globe that the entertainment license obtained by the University mandated that the event end at 11 p.m., Paglia said the dance has always lasted until 1:30 a.m. According to the Globe report, neighbors said they heard loud music from a DJ until at least 2 a.m. on Sunday morning. Several neighbors filmed the dance as evidence of the time at which it took place and the noise it produced. One Cleveland Circle resident posted a short recording on YouTube, where he wrote, "Once again, the 'festive' needs of the Boston College undergrad took precedence over the entire rest of the Brighton/Chestnut Hill community."

As the long-standing event has not spurred noise complaints in the past, Dunn and Keady said the DJ's choice in music with unusually loud bass was likely the source of the excessive noise.

Though Paglia noted that choosing an untried DJ - the one used for previous homecoming dances was expensive and didn't generate good feedback, she said - for the event was a risk, her preparations for the dance, which began over the summer, were far from hasty.

"First of all, in the summer, we have to find a date that works," she said. Because hosting homecoming the same weekend as a home football game would cause a logistical nightmare, the event has to be held during an away game, she said.With the Notre Dame game and chilly weather hardly conducive to outdoor dancing looming, Columbus Day weekend was Paglia's best option.

And despite the fact that the 1,400 available tickets quickly sold out, the UGBC did not profit from the event. When asked what aspect of the dance was responsible for the tickets' $25 price tag, she responded, "It's everything - we need to allocate enough food for the amount of people we have, renting tents is very expensive, the DJ is expensive. It's not cheap to plan an event."

The platters of shrimp, spring rolls, chicken skewers, cookies, and other hors d'oeuvres available at the dance were provided by BC's Bureau of Conferences. Students who were at least 21 years of age and had previously validated their student IDs with Student Services were permitted to enter a police-manned tent in which beer and wine were served. The Boston College Police Department provided all security for the event.

Despite the fact that alcohol was served at the event, there were few complaints from administrators about excessive drinking before and during the dance.

One student was arrested and several required attention for alcohol consumption, but Paul Chebator, senior associate dean for student development, complimented students' on their good behavior. "Actually, as far as homecoming events have gone, I'd say that the behavior of the crowd was pretty reasonable and responsible," he said.

Keady added that no complaints regarding student drinking, a common grievance of BC's neighbors, arose during Tuesday's meeting.

"I'm really happy with how it went," Paglia said. "I've heard a bunch of students say they had an awesome time, and I was really happy with how it turned out."