Programming Board will today host the first'minus;ever launch event for this semester's revamped Winter Bash during open block in Hotung Caf'eacute;.
The event is intended to promote a significantly different Winter Bash, which is now called Break the Ice as the result of a renaming competition organized by the Programming Board last semester.
'This year Winter Bash has drastically changed 'hellip; We want to really get the student body excited,' Programming Board Co'minus;Chair Sarah Habib, a junior, said.
Amid food, games and a raffle for free tickets, the launch event will publicize the changes that have been implemented for Winter Bash, in particular its move to an off'minus;campus location and the institution of a $10 ticket fee.
The event also marks the official start of online ticket sales. Although tickets have technically been available online since Jan. 21, 'Programming Board is viewing [tickets] as going on sale tomorrow,' Habib said.
Tickets will be sold online by credit card until Jan. 31 and then at the Mayer Campus Center Information Booth by cash or JumboCash. Unlike Fall Ball, Winter Bash will have no cap on tickets because its venue, the Sheraton Boston Hotel, is larger than Gantcher Center, where Fall Ball was held.
'The space at the Sheraton is so immense. We're lucky that there's one whole ballroom that will be for the whole event and another separate ballroom for a 21+ area,' Director of the Office for Campus Life (OCL) Joe Golia said.
Winter Bash's change in name reflects drastic changes to the event itself. Instead of just being a dance at the gym, the Feb. 5 event will include a light dinner with different food stations offering fare such as pizza, tapas, sliders and salads, as well as complimentary drinks.
'[It is] an upscale event compared to [the] gym 'hellip; there's a beautiful ballroom that can sit pretty much anyone who wants to come,' Golia said.
Habib feels that the inclusion of substantial amounts of food and free drinks at the event makes the $10 ticket worthwhile. 'Seniors pay $10 for a pub night, which doesn't include food or drinks,' she said. 'The food is really important; it makes paying $10 more appropriate.'
Decreasing alcohol'minus;related misbehavior at the new Winter Bash is a major concern for the Programming Board, OCL and the Tufts administration.
One of the measures organizers are employing is a new bus boarding system at the Aidekman Arts Center featuring five distinct boarding times and increased supervision by the Tufts administration, Tufts University Police Department officers and OCL employees.
'[We will] have an eye on students as they are waiting in line. Hopefully if anyone is out of control or really drunk already we can remove them from the line,' Golia said.
The Boston Police Department and Boston Emergency Medical Services will take over supervision after the buses leave from Tufts and arrive at the hotel.
Programming Board is optimistic about student behavior at the event. 'After all that's happened, we're sure that the Tufts community is going to behave appropriately,' Habib said.
