 "Photo: Tom Reilly")
A comparatively small turnout at this year's Student Government-sponsored Spring Fling dinner dance is being attributed to a questionable theme choice, some members of the student body say.
A little more than 200 attended the Jurassic Park-themed event, which was held on Friday night at the Waterfront Complex.
The theme choice and lack of interest were some of the contributing factors for such a small event turnout, according to Trevor Kurtz, a freshman communications major.
“This year’s theme seems to be a little off,” Kurtz said. “I don’t know how many people would get behind a Jurassic Park theme.”
Kurtz also said that the timing of the event theme was also questionable.
“Jurassic Park was made in what, the 1990’s? So if it was 1996 or whenever the movie came out and we had a Jurassic Park themed Spring Fling I think a lot of people would go to that, but it’s been 15, 20 years, so many people just don’t care,” said Kurtz.
The theme was an attempt by Student Government (SG), which organizes the event, to bring a renewed interest to the dance. Kevin Hopper, a business major who serves as sophomore class secretary for SG, thought that it was an effective tactic.
“I feel like this theme this year is the best step for Spring Fling, because it’s something new and it’s something exciting,” Hopper said.
Katie White, senior biology major and corresponding secretary on SG executive board, took the largest role in the planning and dubbed the theme a method to overcome the obstacle of disinterested students.
“You do deal with different themes, different favors, different attractions…those are the incentives that we try and use to get students to come to these events,” said White. "Either way you look at it, it’s still a dinner dance and students, we think, are maybe getting a little bored with it, so we’re looking to switch it up a little bit.”
The theme was mostly incorporated through minimal decorations. Amanda Peters, sophomore biology major, felt that the theme idea was “weird,” and the prospect of inflatable dinosaurs was “creepy.”
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advising, internships, and placement rates after college. However
it's my belief that this reputation is being tarnished by the
controversial articles composed by the Beacon. This recent article
about the spring fling is another that was poorly composed. Not only
were the interviews conducted on freshman who have not seen previous
spring flings, they were also not in attendance of the current. As an
attendee of the dance I can attest that it was well organized, the music
and food were good, and it was evident that those who did attend had a
good time. The theme should not be blamed on one student or a group
of students. A flaw in this university is the lack of school spirit and
participation by students no matter the event. This shows it would be
nearly impossible for the SG to get more involvement in a theme
selection. In my opinion this article only steers students away from future
school funded activities. A concern the beacon has expressed multiple
times. This double standard is something the Beacon should reconsider
so the university may keep the reputation it has, as well as the
reputation it deserves.
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