As the fall semester is drawing to a close, the Nite Life staff is looking ahead to the events that will be held in the spring. Posters line the Commons Annex walls, similar to those for the Campout earlier this year. Events such as a Mr. Calvin Competition, Snowcoming, an illusionist and Dessert in the Dark were just a few options up for votes. Students used round stickers to cast several hundred votes on the posters.
“We had a lot of ideas this year and we wanted to put them out there for the students,” said weekend programming coordinator Nicole Wilson. “Because the activities are for students, we want students to have a say in what their weekends look like.”
To determine which events will be pitched to students, the Nite Life team has a meeting every semester to determine what events will take place the next semester.
“We do a green light session, where we throw out any and every idea that we can think of,” said Wilson. Then, she said, they vote on what ideas get them the most excited and the ones they think the students will enjoy the most. “We try to take into consideration the whole [student] population: upperclassmen, underclassmen, male and female — all the different types of students we have.”
Despite this goal, some upperclassmen, such as fifth year senior Joel Betts, are not likely to attend.
“When you get to be an upperclassman, you tend to do more department-specific activities instead of general campus ones,” he said.
However, one of the Nite Life staff’s goal is to highlight student organizations and other departments to help students get introduced to various opportunities across campus.
“For example, at our Thanksmas party, a night of serving that’s coming up on Saturday, we’re highlighting different student organizations across campus that are already doing acts of service and just partnering with them,” added Wilson.
Another goal is to provide high-quality, low-cost, community-forming Nite Life events.
“We’re not just planning events for entertainment, we also want students to build community with each other, and we also want an element of discernment,” said Wilson. “That’s why we had some events like the Comedy Showcase. We try to put on events that get students to think and really question the purpose. We don’t just want these activities to be entertainment. If it’s just entertainment, we’re not doing our jobs.”
The events appeal to a lot a first-year students, such as Jordyn Stromback.
“I love being able to hang out with my friends at the events,” she said. “But it is kind of hard to meet new people. I mean, you just mainly stick with your friend group,” she noted, “but it’s still pretty fun.”
Connecting students with other students is not the only goal. Nite Life staff also hopes that the events that happen off campus connect students with the Grand Rapids community.
“We want to make things that students don’t have to plan; they can just come and be,” said Wilson. “It’s something we really care about.”
