Fall Gala will replace Fall Ball as the first school-sponsored event of the year due to organizational challenges and concerns about the nature of the event.
Hosted by Programming Board's Junior Class Council, Fall Gala will take place this Friday evening on the Academic Quad with live music, entertainment and food.
The decision to restructure resulted from a combination of previously proven logistical issues and a desire to change the tone of the event, according to Joe Golia, director of the Office for Campus Life. He said these challenges have prompted discussion for years concerning the organization of Fall Ball.
"We've had a lot of neighbor problems during Fall Ball," Golia, who serves as faculty advisor for the Programming Board, said. "We've had problems with the facility - the heat certainly didn't make it a very comfortable event. We've had a lot of complaints about the type of entertainment that we get, and, of course, the facility does not have the appropriate number of bathrooms for an event of that nature and size."
While the administration first approached Programming Board with an interest in restructuring Fall Ball and other all-campus events, Golia said that changes to this year's event came largely from the students.
"[The Junior Class Council] wanted to do something exciting and different," Daniel Madwed, treasurer of the 2015 Class Council, said. "We're an incredible student body and we should be able to experience a well-planned, well-organized event, and Fall Ball was not that. We would put on a lot of loud music and serve pizza and water in a hot, sweaty gym. Tufts students should be exposed to a great party and a great event, and that's hopefully what Fall Gala will be."
Fall Gala tickets can be purchased on tuftstickets.com beginning today at 10 a.m. Though Fall Ball tickets were free last year, Fall Gala tickets cost $5.
The function will run from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. - with doors open from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. - and will be followed by a fireworks show at 10 p.m. on the Residential Quad, according to Emily Ehrmann, vice president of social programming on the 2015 Class Council. Tickets and a Tufts I.D. must be shown to gain entrance to the Gala, but the fireworks show is not ticketed and is open to the entire student body.
Ehrmann, a junior, said there are new additions planned for the event, including a photo booth.
"There will be a dance floor with a live band from The Berklee School of Music, Them Apples and a DJ, too," she said. "It's going to be elegantly lit with string lights. [There will be] light food, which will add a lot to the event and make it feel more formal, rather than just pizza."
Fall Ball will not be the only event to see changes this year, according to Golia. While the Junior Class Council insisted that last year's Winter Bash incidents were a minimal consideration in the decision to oust Fall Ball, Golia acknowledged that the incidents did push the administration and Programming Board to evaluate how all-campus events, such as Fall Ball, Winter Bash and Spring Fling, are structured. According to Golia, it was the logistical and facilital challenges of Winter Bash, rather than student behavior, that prompted changes.
"I don't want to make any excuses for our students because it is completely innapropriate behavior when people are urinating in elevators or on stairs, but some of it was just that people couldn't logistically get in the bathrooms," Golia said.
Certain changes were also necessary, Golia said, because it is no longer feasible for such a large event to take place in an off-campus facility, such as a hotel. Golia hoped to make that reason known to end possible rumors.
"No hotel has ever said we're not welcome back," he said. "That information is completely false. The hotels have told us, however, that they can no longer handle an event of that size and nature."
While plans are still in the early stages, students and members of the Programming Board's Senior Class Council will decide the future of Winter Bash, Golia said. Possible changes may include a lower ticket limit, location and the type of event.
"If we were to try and recreate Winter Bash, which definitely could happen, numbers would be significantly decreased for our own safety and the safety of our students," Golia said. "But if having a large event again is what people really want, then we have to figure out how to do that in winter."
