SGA hosted winter formal, an annual event featuring free food, a student DJ, a photo booth, karaoke, Lyft vouchers, a mocktail bar and a cash bar for students 21 years and older, on Feb. 27 at the Ent Center.
The formal cost $8,037.46 upfront, however, unused Lyft vouchers will be refunded.
According to the Director of Student Engagement, Noelle San Souci, only five students used vouchers so about $650 will be refunded. The exact amount is still unavailable.
Unused funds will be returned to the CarryForward Fund, which are reserve funds used to fund special initiatives and supplement club funding when annual budgets are exhausted.
A breakdown of the budget, before refunds, is listed below.
- Catered food – $2,075
- Decorations budget – $500
- DJ – $300
- Snack budget – $70
- Transportation cost – $425
- Lyft vouchers – $750
- Ent Center rental (includes theaters, staff, audio and lighting) – $3,917.46
Included in the cost are funds to continue the shuttle service until 11:30 p.m., allowing on-campus residents to shuttle to and from the event.
Attendance was slightly lower this year, with 320 to 350 attendees compared to last year’s 378. According to San Souci, this year a little over 200 students attended with roughly 100 non-student guests.
San Souci said attendance could have decreased because there was a slight decrease in residential students this year.
“They just have to reevaluate, if attendance is going to keep dipping or stay the same, whether they keep hosting it in the same place or have the same activities,” San Souci said.
SGA hosts a winter formal to have more campus events in the spring semester.
“Come springtime, our larger events are usually near the end of the semester, so they were hoping to fill some of that time with some more traditional events,” San Souci said.
SGA began hosting a winter formal in response to student feedback, who stated that they would attend school dances if they were more formal. However, the lowering in attendance could lead to a reevaluation of the event.
Students gather on an empty dance floor. Photo by Josiah Dolan.