Students attending tonight's Winter Bash, the annual school-wide event to be held this year at the Copley Place Marriott Hotel, will find some slight changes from last year's format, according to organizers of the event.
While Winter Bash last year received generally positive reviews from students, the event was the subject of many complaints about its coat-check procedure.
"The process last year was a disaster," Office for Campus Life (OCL) Director Joe Golia said. "An absolute disaster."
"It turned out to be a very chaotic scene, and it didn't go as smoothly as we thought it would, which was no one's fault; it was just a logistical nightmare," Programming Board Co-Chair Adam Fischer, a senior, said.
Golia said this year's event will feature a modified approach to dealing with attendees' coats.
The Mariott will provide a large, open space on the third floor of the hotel where students may leave their coats on coat hooks, according to Golia.
"Students will be able to get them when they want to leave and won't worry about having to go through a coat check," Golia said.
Fischer advised students to avoid bringing coats altogether, if possible.
"Students are either encouraged not to bring coats if they don't want to worry about it or leave it in one of the coat rooms. … We hope that by doing this, we'll alleviate the chaos that occurred last year," Fischer said.
Senior Sarah Habib, the other programming board co-chair, agreed. "It's easier not to bring a coat," she said.
The busing process from Tufts will also be more streamlined, according to Habib.
Programming Board met with representatives from the bus company running transportation to the Mariott to ensure a more organized boarding process, Habib said.
"They're really well-aware of the situation and where the buses need to go and how the operation works," Golia said.
Students will enter through Cohen Auditorium and form a single line in the Aidekman Arts Center at the loading time indicated on their tickets.
Like last year, students must have Tufts identification to gain entry to the Mariott, Fischer said. Re-entry into the event will not be permitted, according to Golia.
The Sheraton Boston Hotel, the location for last year's Winter Bash, was unavailable this year due to construction, according to Fischer.
Fischer is satisfied with the new venue, he said.
"The nice thing about this space is once we're up on the fourth floor, it's all ours," Golia said. This year's Winter Bash will be the second year the event is held off-campus.
"The space is beautiful. We're really excited about it," he said. "The ballroom is gorgeous."
The event will this year feature an area in a separate ballroom on the same floor where alcoholic beverages will be served to students carrying a government-issued ID showing that they are over 21, Fischer said.
Tickets were available for online purchase from Jan. 18 to Jan. 23, and all remaining tickets were made available in the information booth in the Mayer Campus Center beginning Monday.
Four hundred more tickets were available online than last year, bringing the number of available online tickets close to 2,000.
2,750 total tickets had been sold as of yesterday afternoon, according to Habib. Ticket sales will continue today until the start of the event, she said.
Fischer and Golia said they hope this year's event will live up to last year's success.
"We thought that overall, the event was definitely a success, but there were lessons to be learned, and we think this year's event will improve that," Fischer said.
"For us, it was a success, and we just hope that the students help us out again this year and just go and have a great time," Golia added. "It's really exciting to be able to bring close to 3,000 students off campus with minimal problems."
"I do think it'll be a wonderful evening overall," Habib said.
