Most campus organizations are suffering after not having FallFest to help promote their events this year.
Many campus groups thrive on FallFest and other Week of Welcome events, such as Sunset Serenade, to kick off their school year. Without this boost at the beginning of the year, a lot of organizations have fewer people on their listservs than in previous years.
FallFest’s cancellation due to inclement weather was a huge loss of money for the Student Union and the event’s sponsors. FallFest performance groups also wasted hours practicing, thinking they were about to hit the stage.
The Division of Student Affairs should establish contingency plans so weather doesn’t shut down WOW events in the future. New freshmen now do not have a chance to experience their first FallFest, and the class of 2013 does not get to take part in its last one.
There needs to be a backup venue for FallFest in the event of inclement weather. Even if some aspects had to be canceled to move it inside, the whole event did not need to be sacrificed.
One possible venue is the Dean Dome. Vendors and student groups could set up where the concessions are, and performance groups could be stationed on the basketball court.
For activities like Sunset Serenade, prior approval could be given to have the performances in the Pit as a backup plan.
Although the smaller FallFest held in the Pit was a good attempt at reproducing the canceled FallFest, it did not fully succeed. This was only the second time in 16 years that FallFest has been canceled, and a case like this should not happen again in the future.
Proper procedures need to be taken ahead of time so everyone can have a proper start to the school year.
