Few students could tell you how last year’s Homecoming Dance was because the event was severely overbooked8212;an estimated 200 ticket holders were unable to attend.
About 900 tickets were sold for last year’s dance, but the venue, Pierpont Place, could only hold a maximum of 500 people. That forced ushers to turn away scores of ticket holders, including Senior Class President Erica Andersen. Determined not to repeat the same mistake this year, Andersen said she decided to book this year’s event at The Depot, a venue in The Gateway mall, which can hold up to 1,200 people.
“That’s our goal, that everyone who is eligible and who buys a ticket will be able to get in,” Andersen said. She said she was impressed by the turnout for last year’s dance and hopes to see the same enthusiasm this year.
Those who were able to attend last year say they might have preferred being turned away, however, complaining that the venue was too packed and lacked adequate air conditioning, making for a night more uncomfortable than memorable.
In addition to providing more room to breathe, Andersen assures that this year’s dance will be fully air-conditioned and will also offer bar access.
Other Homecoming Week events should be similar to previous years, Andersen said, but men’s basketball head coach Jim Boylen will emcee this year’s pep rally and promote all U athletics. Football head coach Kyle Whittingham is also slated to make his first appearance at the event.