Despite Bad Weather, Sendoff and Castaway Successful

Through rain, hail and temperatures dipping into the mid-30s, students prevailed to celebrate the end of the academic year this past weekend. Despite the date change from the traditional Saturday to Friday, the Social Board-sponsored Sendoff concert, which included performances from Kenyon bands and the highly-anticipated STRFKR and Big Boi, was an unqualified success, according to Lianne Castile ’13, who co-chairs Social Board with Sarah Schiller ’14.

“[I] was happy with how everything went, especially considering all our reservations with the event and all the students’ reservations,” she said. “The weather may not have been great, but people were still hanging out and enjoying themselves. We’re really glad that it got off the ground.”

Social Board provoked controversy earlier in the semester when it announced Summer Sendoff would move to Friday to accommodate the packed schedules of bigger-name bands. In response to the date change, members of Student Council formed a subcommittee to plan a Saturday event — called Castaway — that ultimately gained the approval of both the Business and Finance Committee (BFC) and Student Council to hold the event last Saturday, April 28.

While the date change was originally a source of contention amongst students and administrators, Director of Student Activities and Greek Life Christina Mastrangelo saw it as a good fit for Social Board. “Having the event on Friday reduced associated costs, gave Social Board the ability to concentrate on the concert and really just focus and do the best job possible,” she said.  “I also thought [having the event on] Friday allowed students to have the weekend and do what they want with it; they could either continue to socialize or get to work.”  

“Friday was amazing. Social Board was extremely satisfied; staff and students reacted extremely well,” Mastrangelo said. “It was the easiest Sendoff in recent memory. There were few incidents or problems, and, unlike in previous years, students ate food, enjoyed the concert and engaged in all the activities provided.”

Mastrangelo was doubly confident that Friday’s success proved “that we don’t need to start drinking at nine in the morning to have fun, to have this sense of community and to engage enthusiastically in everything Social Board set up for us,” she said.

Castile, Eric Schulkin ’13, the other incoming co-chair of Social Board, and Schiller worked together to direct and maintain Sendoff. Schulkin felt there was an overall positive reception to Big Boi’s performance that night.

“He had a lot of energy, and everyone really seems to have enjoyed both sets,” Schulkin said.

As for Student Council’s Castaway event on Saturday, Student Council President Ryan Motevalli-Oliner ’12 said, “Everything that we could control worked out. The weather may have factored in a bit, but everything else went really well.”

Indeed, though Saturday was hampered by poor weather conditions, by early afternoon students had ventured to South Quad, though in significantly fewer numbers than the afternoon before.

Junior Class President Ryan Liegner ’13 headed the subcommittee of Student Council that organized and ran Castaway.

“It was a bit slow at the beginning because it was raining — well, it was hailing — but by 1:00 p.m. we had a bunch of people out there having a good time,” he said. “All our volunteers showed up; in fact, we had an overabundance of volunteers. We never had to call up reserves or anything. In the end, people toughed it out, and in our minds as long as people were staying out, hanging out … we’d be there cooking up quesadillas.”

Liegner was also proud of the combined efforts of various groups on campus. “In the end it wasn’t just Student Council, it was the work of the community at large,” he said. “On Saturday, we had PEAS [People Endorsing Agrarian Sustainability], Greek organizations and all sorts of volunteers.”

Director of Campus Safety Bob Hooper stated that this year had the fewest incidents of disciplinary issues for a Summer Sendoff in a long time. There was not a single transport to Knox Community Hospital for intoxication or other medical emergencies, compared to three visits last year.

The Knox County Sheriff and undercover officers from the Ohio Department of Liquor Control were present to control any unforeseen circumstances, and there were only two citations from the Sheriff compared to “something like six to eight last year,” Hooper said.

“That doesn’t just make it easier for Safety, it makes a better day for the staff, for Social Board, for administrators and especially for CAs [Community Advisors]— a lot of people forget about the CAs,” Mastrangelo said.