From downstairs to downtown

It’s Friday night; a hot Towson concert is happening, but Paws is quiet and the Towson Center Arena is dark.

Instead of footsteps away from students, Towson officials are examining the idea of hosting events off-campus at locations such as the uptown Recher Theatre or Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre.

David Satterlee, director of student activities and director of new student programs, said he sees the idea as a way to open up the city for students.

“We’re trying to do stuff other than build programs on campus; we’re trying to provide opportunities for students to access the city as a whole,” he said.

The Campus Activities Board helped promote a performance by Snoop Dogg, Method Man and Redman at Rams Head Live in Baltimore on Oct. 27.

The show was promoted in Daily Digest e-mails.

While no money changed hands, Director May Medallada said it is a way to start to expand CAB’s reach and expand possibilities for the organization.

“It’s just really good to work with other organizations in the community because it gives both of us some more exposure,” she said.

“It’ll give Rams Head more exposure with the students, and it gives CAB more experience planning more concerts. Then it’s just better for the students because there’s more to do.”

While students did not get reduced admission to the Snoop Dogg show, Medallada said that is one of the options being considered for future co-sponsorships.

She also said that CAB is evaluating other options for next semester based on their budget, including running shuttles to off-campus events. She added that nothing has been finalized, and that many of these decisions will depend on student interest.

Satterlee also said he sees the plan as an opportunity for growth beyond the University Union’s walls.

“The biggest thing is that it’s very difficult to do anything new or interesting because the Union’s packed; There’s no space, [you] can’t do another event,” he said. “So if we’re going to do more events we have to do them off campus.”

Chris Patterson, a junior criminal justice major, said he would be interested in going off campus for University events.

“There’s not a lot to do on the Towson campus. There’s not a lot of parties or anything; it’s pretty boring on campus, so that’d be a good idea,” he said.

Some students said they would need some motivation to attend off-campus events.

“I think if it was something I was really interested in, I might go,” Chris Peifer, a sophomore mass communication major, said. “But I think Towson offers a lot of stuff, a lot of events. They always have events [on campus] and I think they do a pretty good job.” 

--Lauren Slavin contributed to this article.

Comments

1 comments

Student who actually has fun

Thu Nov 5 2009 08:43

Something that gets so frustrating is when students say there is not a lot to do around campus. With over 275 student groups, and an entire department on the 2nd floor of the union (Office of Student Activities) dedicated to making sure students have something to do, there is no way you cant actually find something to do. There are multiple events everyday held by multiple student groups. Whether its guess speakers, philanthropic events, or just something fun, I guarantee you if you actually look at the daily digest, look in the TowerLight, maybe actually look at the 3,000 fliers in the union, and you will find something. OSA sponsors events called FNL (Friday Night Live) events every single Friday night that different student groups run to give students the option of staying on campus, and still having fun. Besides that event I'm sure there’s at least 3 other programs going on each Friday night as well.

I am all about expanding Towson's reach, and giving Towson students something fresh to do off campus. It's going to be awesome to see Towson out in the community more, and I am sure the events will be great.

It just gets frustrating to hear students say that Towson is boring and they have nothing to do, when all they need to do is check out a flier. I'd almost say there is an oversaturation of events going on on-campus. Maybe that’s it, there is just too much to do that some students can’t make up their minds.

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