Friday's Fall Ball was considered a "tremendous success" by organizers and attendees alike.
Where 2003's Fall Ball only attracted about 1,500 students, this year's was attended by 3,700 of all class years. These numbers were a welcome surprise to the event's organizers, who expected only 2,500 students, Concert Board Chair Jason Slomovitz said.Slomovitz attributes the popularity of the event to new advertising tactics like the door hangers distributed around campus promoting the event, and also to the "really big name" of DJ Skribble.
The Fall Ball was held in the Gantcher Center again this year, which Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate President Dave Baumwoll said is "really the only indoor venue where we can accommodate the entire school."
There were some reservations of holding a dance in the Gantcher Center because it presented a certain "risk," Baumwoll said. Because Gantcher is surrounded by residential properties, Tufts agreed not to hold concerts in Gantcher so as to not disturb its neighbors with noise.
The TCU Senate successfully lobbied the administration last year to hold the event in Gantcher.
Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel said that "some steps [were] taken to better contain the sound inside Gantcher, and we hope this will prevent even a few neighbors from being disturbed."
One step taken, according to Baumwoll, was adding insulation inside the building.
Residents were sent letters notifying them of the time of the event, 10 p.m. through 1 a.m., and volunteers patrolled the outside of Gantcher with decibel meters to ensure the volume remained at acceptable levels. In the unlikely event of a complaint, Baumwoll said the party's volume would have been adjusted.
While TCU Treasurer Jeffrey Katzin said that last year the scrupulousness about noise levels was "the biggest difficulty" about running the event, Baumwoll was certain all the hard work would pay off.
"This is an event for the entire community, and that's why we put so much time and effort into it," he said.
The success of the Fall Ball did not come without a price, however. Running the entire event cost about $25,000. With an asking price of $10,000, DJ Skribble was paid nearly $2,000 more than last year's DJ, Kid Capri.
The Student Activities Fund fronted $15,000 for the event. Baumwoll also found sponsors in several administrative offices, including the President's office, the Dean of Students' office, Community Relations, Health Services, and the office of the Dean of Arts, Sciences and Engineering.
Most of the administrators approved of Fall Ball because of its non-alcoholic focus. Rubel said that the event "seemed like such a positive project for the Senate to undertake. A great many of the problems that arise off-campus seem to start with alcohol.It seems like a logical step for Community Relations to support the efforts of campus groups that are offering alternatives."
The Fall Ball started out last year as a cheaper alternative to Fall Fest, an outdoor concert. Due to some budgetary issues in 2002, the Fall Fest was cut back to a carnival status, Katzin said.
Although finances could now support transforming Fall Fest back into a full-fledged concert, TCU members say that the idea of an introductory semi-formal dance is more popular.
"We'd like to make it bookend with Spring Fling," Baumwoll said. "We thought we'd change it up a little and make it indoors." Slomovitz agreed that "instead of bringing everyone together to say goodbye, we're bringing everyone together to say hello."
This objective seems to have been fulfilled. Freshman Shelby Deeney said that "because there were so many people there, I kept meeting new freshmen. People just came together and had fun."<$>
