UCCS held its first winter formal on Saturday, Feb. 22, with a total of 378 people in attendance.
SGA allocated $3,699.46 to rent the Ent Center, $1,500 for Lyft vouchers, $710 for catering, $600 for the DJ, $579.37 for the photo booth, $336 for a Saturday-running shuttle, plus $983.36 for police security, decorations and GAR tax.
The total amount allocated for the event was $8,408.19 including GAR, but unused Lyft vouchers reduced the cost of the event to roughly $7,100 meaning that SGA paid around $18.78 per person in attendance.
SGA and student life were not planning on such a large turnout, but its success will inform planning for the event in the future, according to Director of Student Life and SGA Advisor Noelle San Souci.
“This year, the success shows that students would like for this to become a tradition. They were excited enough to attend, and administration was really excited with the turnout,” San Souci said.
Transportation
Originally, $1,836 was allocated for transportation for the winter formal but only around $536 of it was used. Commuter students were offered $20 Lyft vouchers to get home, and a shuttle ran between the dorms and the Ent Center to take residential students to and from the dance.
SGA had 75 Lyft vouchers but only five vouchers were used. San Souci said the money unspent on these vouchers which equates to about $1,300 will go back to SGA to be used for future events.
The weekend-running shuttle consistently had 20-27 students riding to and from the Ent Center, according to San Souci.
“A lot of residential students ended up coming since we paid to have weekend hours on the shuttle, and that was really popular … Shuttle drivers let us know that the service was being used all night long,” San Souci said.
Catering
Catering for the winter formal cost $710. There was one tray of meatballs, four charcuterie and snack platters, and four units — or 12 gallons — of mocktails. Mocktails and meatballs were gone by 8:30 p.m.
“We didn’t realize how many folks would go, so it could have been bigger,” San Souci said. “In the future, we are going to do more catering.”
The first winter formal bill was presented at the Feb. 6 SGA meeting, and the second was at the Feb. 13 meeting.
“For the next winter formal, as SGA’s advisor, my hope is that they get started on it sooner and create more of a partnership with Student Life … Since people notice the success, maybe other departments will want to partner with the formal to make it even bigger and better,” San Souci said.
Students can learn more about events organized by SGA on their Mountain Lion Connect page.