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punk band co-sponsored by a Student Association group
performs. |
When it's
Friday night, classes are over for the week and it's time
to kick back, what do students want? More and more, they're
opting for Late
Nite Binghamton a free, student-run program that offers
live music, movies, sports and games in the University Union
from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights and, more
recently, from 8 to 11:30 p.m. Thursdays.
The two-year-old
program boasts a great track record. Average attendance started
out at 1,210 per weekend in fall 2001 and has risen to 1,649
per weekend in spring 2003. And the programming possibilities
and potential for growth are "limitless," said Bill Kroll,
one of the program's coordinators. Other schools that want
to get similar programs off the ground are now looking to
Late Nite Binghamton as a model.
Why is
it so popular? Because students drive it, said Kroll, who
coordinates Late Nite, along with Jack Causseaux. Both are
assistant directors of Campus Activities and Orientation.
From the
outset, programming for Late Nite was based on what students
said they were looking for. Student opinions were solicited
in a series of focus groups sponsored by Campus Activities
and Orientation, said Kroll. What the group found was that
students mostly just want a place to hang out with each other.
"It's
all about choice -- having an option other than hanging out
in their rooms or residence hall lounges, or going downtown
to a bar," said Kroll.
The program
recognizes that students like to hang out late at night. Often
they don't have dinner until 7 p.m. or so; then they do homework.
Frequently, it's 10 p.m. before they're ready to cut loose.
Students
also said they like to leave campus after spending the whole
day there. Late Nite addresses that desire by transforming
the University Union so that it looks and feels like an entirely
different place. For example, fluorescent lights in the hallways
are covered with gels -- colored plastic sheeting -- to dim
and soften the lighting, creating an entirely different atmosphere.
They place large fica plants throughout the Union, and put
up street signs in the hallways with made-up street names
like "A Good Time" and "Your Mamma's House."
A movie marquee is placed at the entrance to room 133, where
movies are shown. A stage and portable lighting and sound
system transform the South Lounge for student performers.
Sound systems are also set up for Late Nite's "Rock 'n' Bowl"
and the new Union coffeehouse.
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Students
making wax molds of their hands --
a popular craft activity.
A BU a cappella
group performs.
Students
play laser tag in an inflatable arena.
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Student-driven
programming
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| Karaoke
Night -- students love it! |
Students'
input and involvement in programming are key to Late Nite's
success, said Kroll, who emphasized this over any other factors.
Late Nite is staffed by students -- 15 undergraduates and
two graduate students, including a Web master and entertainment
coordinator. The budget committee is made up of five students
(including three Student Association representatives and two
Late Nite staffers), three voting administrators and one non-voting
administrator (Kroll) -- so students' votes outweigh administrators'.
And the programming committee, chaired by Kroll and co-chaired
by a representative from Student Affairs, is open to all students.
Programming
meetings are held weekly and attended by 15-20 students bursting
with ideas. "The students are so enthusiastic Ð you don't
want to say no to any of them," said Kroll. "The big challenge
is fitting all those ideas into a cohesive schedule." The
abundance of ideas and the enthusiasm backing them explains
how Late Nite has grown to offer as many as six different
programs simultaneously.
Late Nite
has added programming on Thursdays in response to Hillel,
the Jewish Student Union and other Jewish students on campus
who aren't able to attend Late Nite on Fridays.
When Late
Nite first began, Kroll was charged with going to different
organizations on campus to ask for funding. Early sponsors
that helped get Late Nite off the ground included the student
governments, the University Programming Board, Campus Activities,
Student Affairs, Physical Facilities, Sodexho Campus Services
and the University Union. Student support for the program
led to the establishment of a campus life fee of $20 per student
per year that now funds Late Nite. In turn, the program helps
to fund student organization programs and events held during
Late Nite, as well as several large events, including University
Fest, Homecoming, Spring Fling and getaway bus trips.
Incoming
students get to experience Late Nite during Orientation, when
Kroll and other Campus Activities staff host a sample Late
Nite, with bands, laser tag and other activities. As a result,
freshmen look for it when they start school in the fall.
"Although
we just started two years ago, some students think Late Nite
has been here forever," said Kroll. One thing is certain:
Late Nite's popularity means it's here to stay.
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Late
Nite's wide variety of programming includes:
Students don't show up for movies that are already available
on video, DVD or pay-per-view, Kroll has found -- and
first-run films are too expensive. What works is showing
second-run films before they're available elsewhere.
This semester's selections have included About Schmidt
and The Pianist, for example. Movies are shown on Thursdays
as well as weekend nights. The movie screening room
seats 180 and is usually filled to capacity.
 Local
bands and singer/songwriters perform both in the University
Union South Lounge and in the new coffeehouse. The acts
that get the biggest draws are student musicians --
"All their friends show up," said Kroll.
 sponsored
and organized by students... Groups such as the Black
Student Union, Asian Student Union, Latin American Student
Union and many others draw great attendance to their
Late Nite events. For one, said Kroll, they have their
own listservs and are good at getting the word out.
But they also attract a broader spectrum of attendees
-- students who might not otherwise make a point of
coming to the event are already in the Union for Late
Nite, so they stop in to check it out. "Often, students
coming out of the movie will hear some music going on,
or stop in to see some dancing, at a student-group event,
and they'll end up staying," said Kroll.
 "Crafts
have been huge at Late Nite," Kroll said. There were
those who didn't think it would fly, but students love
it. They've made sand art, wax hands, necklaces, T-shirts
-- you name it.
 "This
was something that was not supposed to be popular according
to most, because they thought you had to be drunk to
try it. But our students just love it," said Kroll.
 Late
Nite Binghamton offers special discount prices for bowling
and billiards.
It took some doing to get approval for it, but Late
Nite's first Foam Dance Party, fist held in August 2001,
was such a resounding success that a repeat was held
in May 2002. People came out for a good time and danced
away the hours in a huge tank of foam. Late Nite's poker
tournament, organized by Ryan Jantzen '04, was a bigger
draw than expected. The event was originally planned
for 60 people, but more than 100 showed up at the door,
and many had to be turned away. Laser tag was another
big draw when Late Nite rented an inflatable arena for
it.
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