Since the launch of Orange After Dark in 2010, administrators behind the Syracuse University program have been trying to sponsor fun events for students every weekend. This year, they’ve nearly accomplished that.

With the exception of three weekends, including Family Weekend and Homecoming/Alumni Weekend, there will be at least one OAD event every Friday or Saturday night until Thanksgiving break.

These events include “classics,” such as Cosmic Bowling and Fright Night at the Fair, and new options, primarily on-campus events such as a murder mystery dinner based on the board game “Clue” that will take place in Schine Underground, said Courtney Jones, an assistant director of the Office of Student Activities.

“It was partly based on some research that we did looking at what other schools offer and partly on things that we thought would be different and would be interesting to students,” Jones said of the on-campus expansion of the OAD program.

The expansion of OAD coincides with the program’s new “home” in the Office of Student Activities, Jones said. The program was formally co-chaired by staff members in both the Office of Student Activities and the Office of Residence Life, but, starting this year, OAD is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Office of Residence Life.

The decision to move the program to the Office of Student Activities was made to streamline the goal of beefing up the number of events and because “it just kind of made sense” for the program to be anchored in the Office of Student Activities, Jones said.

Another goal administrators have for the OAD program this year is “really getting students to know that if you’re feeling bored or you’re not sure what’s going on on-campus at night or on the weekends that we’re kind of the first thought for them,” Jones said.

The success of OAD events is gauged by the number of tickets sold to that event and by student evaluations, which are completed at the end of the activity. The evaluations also ask students for suggestions on future events.

“We do tend to listen to what students want and what they like,” Jones said.

The Office of Student Activities has also been getting feedback regarding OAD events from incoming freshmen that are participating in Summer Start.

“It’s actually been really helpful for us to let them know kind of in advance notice that, ‘hey, here’s some of the events that we’re planning for the semester,’ and we’re getting really positive responses,” Jones said.

Romy Weidner, an incoming freshman and Summer Start student who recently saw a presentation about OAD, said in an email that the events “look really interesting.” He said he’d participate, but added it would be better to increase promotion.

There will be 18 events this semester, starting with a premiere viewing of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Sept. 8 in Schine 304S and ending with the premiere of “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2” on Nov. 19 in Regal Cinemas at Destiny USA, according to the OAD website.

Off-campus events will remain priced at $3 and on-campus events will be free of charge in order to make them more accessible, Jones said.

Published on August 26, 2015 at 12:03 am

Contact Alexa: atorrens@syr.edu