The Friday Late Nite Programs hosted by Student Activities provide a great way to start the weekend, while offering an alcohol-free alternative for those students who wish to participate. According to David Eng, assistant director of student activities, a wide variety of programs have been held for at least two years. Casino Night, the Bollywood and Bhangra parties, Hamskate, and the Snow Ball were all organized thanks to the Late Nite Programs.
“Late Nite gives student leaders the opportunity to program events for their organizations that they otherwise would not be able to accomplish through independent funding,” explained Eng. This is true for Alexandra Orlov ’13, a member of the Figure Skating Club and organizer of January’s Hamskate. She said that “The Late Nite program is a great idea, and it's up to the student organizations to use the money to throw an entertaining event. I think it's also important for events to appeal to many different types of students.”
“We had always hoped to organize a skating event like this, so we applied for Late Nite funding from Student Activities last semester,” said Orlov. Not only do the clubs need to acquire funding for their event, they need to make arrangements for advertising, location, and the materials needed. “We worked hard to secure skate rentals, purchase food, set up for the event, and supervise all the skaters,” said Orlov.
The Late Nite programs vary in attendance, and the more popular events such as Hamskate can have as many as 250 students stopping by throughout the night. The programs take place in the Fillius Events Barn from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday nights—prime partying hours for some students. The popularity of the alcohol-free Late Nite programs may seem surprising, but Orlov says that events like these are in high demand. “It's all a matter of creating a fun atmosphere that students will be excited about,” she said. Students like Juana Gonzalez ’14, who frequently attends the Late Nite events agreed with this. “I like the environment of the Late Nite programs where I’m not pressured into drinking, and it’s just a fun time to hang out with my friends. You don’t have to be drunk to have fun.”
The upcoming Friday Late Nite events include Magic: The Gathering Booster Draft Tournament, an event hosted by the National Eating Disorder Awareness Week committee, Multicultural Carnival, and WHCL Late Nite.
