SARAH GREEN — Copy Editor
Looking for something fun—and free—to do this Thursday night, Nov. 17? Check out “A Blast from the Past,” a late-night event in the Farnham Programming Space.
“The idea is to have a ‘decades’ party,” said Pedalino. “People come and represent their favorite decade.” That could mean anything from dressing like a flapper from the 20s to pulling out your leggings and oversized ugly sweater to represent the 80s.
The night is more than just a costume party, though.
“We are looking to have a 50s diner set up, with hot dogs, fries and milkshakes,” said Pedalino.
Like most Southern events, students can look for free giveaways. “[We’ll have] sand art and shutter shades, give out more t-shirts, have music from different decades and DDR and Rock Band set up.”
Pedalino is one of several student representatives on the new committee, Thursday Night Owls, which planned and organized this event. Thursday Night Owls is a new initiative by Southern to bring fun nighttime events to campus on Thursday nights and provide students with the opportunity to stay on campus and enjoy time with peers rather than heading home for a long weekend or going downtown to drink.
The other notable feature of the Thursday Night Owls events is they are on campus, allowing more undergraduates to attend.
“It’s open to everyone so it’s not limited to a certain number of people like Friday Night Free for All,” said John Eno, vice president for Alpha Phi Delta.
Sarah Michaud, coordinator of the Drug and Alcohol Resource Center, said the committee is being run by a group of students.
“The committee includes members from four of the main student governing bodies (SGA, RHA, GLC and Pro-Con) and there are also a few freshmen on the committee who were recruited through the INQ classes (as some of the committee members are Peer Mentors for the First Year Experience classes),” Michaud said. “The committee is also inviting students and clubs and organizations to get involved with the Thursday Night Owls Program.”
The program is currently being funded through a federal grant for the 2011-‘12 academic year; however, the committee members hope other student funding possibilities will arise to sustain Thursday Night Owls. Eno was one of many students who attended the first Thursday Night Owls event, called October Fest.
“I think it should be continued [next year],” Eno said. “It’s a promotional event to get to know people on campus during the week. There are people who stay here Thursday nights and don’t go out. So it gives people a chance to see different perspectives and meet new people.
Ashley Ishman, another student representative for the Thursday Night Owls committee was pleased by the success October Fest.
“A lot of the CCs even admitted that it was the first time they’d seen a lot of their residents stay in,” said Ishman.
Ishman said this Thursday’s event is going to be even better.
“There are going to be a lot more giveaways; it’s going to be more fun than the last one,” she said. “If you’re one of those people who were born in the wrong decade, you can be whoever you want to be for the night. And why go out and spend money when you can get a lot of free stuff?”
