Ticket sales for the May Weekend semi formal plummeted, with only 489 of the 800 tickets sold.
“In the past, students used to line up hours before the ticket sale started, and even slept in tents to assure the purchase of a ticket,” said sophomore Mike O’Neill, SGA’s vice president of public relations elect.
The tickets went on sale at 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 1 in Buckman Theater. In the past, the sale had no formal ending. Rather, the sale would end when the tickets were sold out. This past Sunday, the sale ended at 5 p.m. when the line to buy tickets ended.
The May Weekend semi -formal ticket sale, or “the lack there of,” as senior SGA representative Kristen Fischer said, was due in part to the fact that “the sale was held on a Sunday, and a lot of people here go home on the weekends.”
Junior Stephanie Wenderoth, vice president of public relations, said “I had hoped for a better turnout. I think the reasons why not as many tickets were sold was because May Weekend only consists of two days this year. Also many students think that the semi formal is only for juniors and seniors, but it’s open to all classes.”
Fischer added, “Since May Weekend is only two days long, freshmen, sophomores, and juniors want to spend their time on-campus, because they know that they can save the semi formal for their senior year.”
O’Neill thought students would be more enthusiastic about the semiformal, especially since “RHC’s `Snowball Dance’ and SGA’s `Sadie Hawkins’ dance have been canceled for next year due to lack of attendance. At each dance there was a very low turnout.”
Some students did not purchase tickets to the semi formal because of other reasons, not because of the length of May Weekend. “It’s too formulated around couples. They should make it more stag-convenient. I don’t think they realize that college students have limited funding,” Melissa Byrne, junior legal studies major.
Despite disappointing ticket sales, many SGA members still remain positive. “As people talk to their friends and realize that they bought tickets, they will go and buy tickets to the semi formal too,” said Junior SGA representative Kristi-Joan Kniehel.
Tickets will be offered next week, although “when and where tickets will be offered is still undetermined. It will probably take place in the Student Center,” Wenderoth said.
Additional reporting by Rebecca Tocarz.