DRA BALL

[senior student]

hey you guys we are planning another ball!! It will be the first offical DRA ball. It is planned for April 16TH.So I hope you all will come!
we will give you more information near the time so look out for emails and posters!

[Guest]

im sorry but what you have planned for the ball is just pathetic! one ticket each, no extra ticket to take a partner or friend and in the aquirium??? hello-have u not heard the reviews of the aquirium?? im hoping we will have another party like the christmas party aswell, as i and many of my DRA friends will not be attending the ball due to the venue and tickets!
if we do have another party, ask fife park aswell, they have nothing, i feel sorry for them!! plus there are many people there who could fill a room!!

[The_Lone_Ranger]

Fife park have nothing, because as far as i know, their committee is rubbish. You have a pretty good committee, so stop whinging.

[Abracadabra]

It's not the venue but the people who make a good party. Lots of balls have worked really well in the Aquarium before, and our ball will be even better since we are going to have food, free blue-themed cocktails, bands etc.

Most halls only have one ball and therefore may give out 2 tickets. We're having 2 balls therefore are working on a one-ticket each policy. If we have any spare, we will sell them, and probably at reduced rates for DRA people.

It will hopefully be a really good ball, so hope you can make it. I know a lot of people that are really looking forward to it, and hopefully it shouldn't disappoint!

[Guest]

yeah ok i have to agree with all that was said there, i was just moaning and needed someone or something to moan at. i really enjoyed the ball in the old course n this wont b anything compared to it, i think thats my issue here, sorry for moaning!

and i was sticking up for fife park, i have loads of friends there n want them to b at the ball, but they cannot afford £15 a ticket, hence the mentioning of the party!

[munchingfoo]

Listen, the best party I have been to since coming here, Scuba Doo, was in the aquarium. It's what you make it. Really, the aquarium can be cool provided it is full. I wouldn't worry about it.

[hr]Management: The art of writing like you know what you're talking about and making others believe it.

(munchingfoo comprehensive dictionary)

My website:
http://aa.domaindlx.com/munchingfoo/

[atreus]

"Management: The art of writing like you know what you're talking about and making others believe it."

That applies to so much more than just mangagement you know

[Rennie]

Well, I've worked at about 6 different events at the Aquarium and only Scuba-Doo has been any good - I've seen some terrible nights down there. WHy waste your money on the Aquarium which needs loads of security because it's a loads of different rooms, the bar prices are a joke, and the dancefloor is too small (although at £15 a ticket I wouldn't be surprised if that turned out to be a problem)

Having a ball is a good idea, having a ball in the aquarium without offering extra tickets is a bad one. Use logic. Remember how empty it got at the last ball later on?

[Rennie]

Oh, and in response to the comment that Fife Park committee is crap, we don't have any money because our subs (which are voluntary) are only £10 a year.

We would not like to be in position that DRA students were in when they were fined £50, many of whom didn;t pay the original charge because htey couldn;t afford to.

I much prefer our system of doing things than what has happened at DRA, and from what I hear so do others.

[Sometimes things are so o]

Well there are a number of reasons why we are holding the ball at the aquarium. The main one is that it is the only place in St Andrews which has the correct capacity for us (as we needed over 220 ppl capacity -the number of ppl in hall). We had tried to get the Byre again but we could only have had acoustics there for the music.

As this is our second ball (now name me another hall that has had two balls this year?) and we felt that we wished to do something slightly different from the first (which had unfortunately to some taken place when ppl had gone home after exams - that was why it looked quiet in the room where we had the ball - that room had 500 capacity). So instead of there being just one huge room with little seating we have the contrast of the aquarium where there are lots of different parts to appeal to different peoples tastes. In the main room which I do admit is small there will be a ceilidh and then dj. In Catch there will be the buffet and cocktail recepetion at the beginning of the evening and on one floor there will be karaoke. The other floor will have a seating area for ppl to sit and just chill. There will be all the fish to wander around and look at which personally I think is pretty novel. Also there will be a photographer.

As for the bar prices. I went to the New Hall Ball and the Bay was really bad for the cost of drinks, as was the Old Course for our first ball. The Aquarium doesn't have hotel prices and all the alcohol is premium brands.

Ppl only got one ticket as we couldn't give everyone 2 (capacity restrictions) and ppl in the apartments got 2 for our first ball.

If anyone has any queries about the ball or want to reserve a ticket for a partner or friend you can email me on arc3 (I am Amy Cameron, DRA Special Events Convener) or if you think that you want to have a go next year (if you are living in DRA) then you can run for the committee. Senior positions are up for election before the end of the year.

One final personal point. I find an evening out like a ball is what you make it. If the ppl all get into the fun of the event then it doesn't matter where you are.

DRA Special Events Convener

[Rennie]

Well, the Aquarium doesn't have Old Course pirces, you're correct. It's even more expensive. The decking on the outside leading to Catch is unsafe and has been known to crack during balls, people have complained about the bar staff being obnoxious - which I also found to be true on experience - the staffing costs are high, along with rental costs.

If you are solely renting the aquarium because it holds 220 people, then this is a stupid idea. Firstly, at that capacity it would be crowded and unpleasent, and secondly, it is clear from a number of replies on this thread that people wish to have more than 1 ticket. We all know that everyone issued with a ticket is unlikely to go, so I would say at an estimate that you will get around 40-60% of students actually going (and the ones that were fined I assume will not be given a ticket - if so then this is extremely unfair) You will end up either with a half empty, expensive Aquarium ball, or a packed one. Either way, people will compain. I recommend holding the ball at one of the various hotels (which offer cheaper rental cost than the Aquarium) and then subsidise the bar with the savings made on rental and decorating the place.

Also, I was lead to believe that the money form the fines was not actually going to the Committee, but was going to the University Cash Office - as it is a University debt. This makes the fining idea which happened- you will have a lot of pissed off students who now do not wish to return to DRA and the committee didn't even financially benefit from it.

If you wanted the subs so badly, then a face to face meeting should have been tried rather than a simple letter system, which people are going to always ignore. After the fines had been threatened people would much rather pay a reduced amount of subs (say £30 - because they have missed the first ball) rather than paying £50 - and the Committee would have had an extra £30 from each person fined to put towards events.

[Sometimes things are so o]

Just to let you know all the decking has been replaced at the aquarium over the past few weeks.

[DRAisforheros]

[s]munchingfoo wrote on 00:43, 28th Mar 2004:
Listen, the best party I have been to since coming here, Scuba Doo, was in the aquarium. It's what you make it. Really, the aquarium can be cool provided it is full. I wouldn't worry about it.

[hr]Management: The art of writing like you know what you're talking about and making others believe it.

(munchingfoo comprehensive dictionary)

My website:
http://aa.domaindlx.com/munchingfoo/


I'm not in DRA yet and still want to attend this ball.

[Guest]

If you spent as much effort with your own committee as you do slagging everyone else's off, you'd be laughing Rennie.

If you think there's a better way of doing things then you try to do them. It's pretty sad and pretty bitter sounding when you have to resort to slagging off other HARD working committees when you do f-all yourself.

[dunx]

[s]Unregisted User DRAisforheros wrote on 16:10, 28th Mar 2004:


I'm not in DRA yet and still want to attend this ball.


Unfortunately I won't be able to attend the ball so I am happy to sell you my ticket for £10. My email address is df15 if you are interested.

[Rennie]

Haha, I was waiting for an 'unregistered user' to pop up and slag me off! If you read my posts carefully then you'll see that I wasn't slagging off (or at least my intention was not to slag off) the DRA committee. I was simply pointing out things that I have found to be true over time.

As for the Fife Park committee not doing anything, that's because we don;t have any money left. We ran two successful BBQ's with plenty of free drink and food - something which DRA have failed to do so far even though I invited them to ages ago. They seem more preoccupied with having a ball that only about 40% of people are interested in going to. Which I think is a shame.

Unregistered user, if you have a problem with me then why don't you e-mail me (my contact details are freely available on teh Union website, or by e-mailing the Fife Park committee) instead of seemingly being bitter yourself?

[Guest]

Rennie, it is all too easy to stand at the sidelines and commentate - it is a lot harder than you think when you're the one having to organise everything.

The comment about it being unfair for people who have not paid their hall subs is clearly ridiculous. I know it is a lot of money, but the committee have provided a lot of social events and are spending it all wisely. Not everyone is happy paying them, but it is a fairer system that everyone does, rather than most people paying, and some opting out and reaping the same benefits. The hall subs system is by far from perfect but your attempt at a voluntary 10 pound effort really never took off either.

You don't live in DRA and in fact, stand on your own hall committee - as Senior Student no less! I suggest you concentrate on making things better for Fife Park and leave the DRA committee to sort out DRA business. There's been a lot of comments about it being unfair for people in Fife Park, who have nothing. Only you have the power and indeed the responsibility, to change that.

If you can prove it can be done better another way then I think your whinging will hold more weight. The DRA committee have done things as best they can and have even tried justifying themselves to you, which is more than you should expect since you're not even in DRA. At the end of the day, the ball is for DRA residents - and hopefully they will enjoy it. If you don't like it, you don't have to go. That's especially true for you, since it's not your ball.

[TLR]

I agree with unregistered user, Mr Rennie seems very good at telling others what to do, but not too good at doing things himself. I don’t think a tenner for a BBQ is particularly cheap, and I think that while £50 isnt cheap either, for 2 balls, a Christmas party, a Halloween party I don’t think its too bad. You mention that if the unregistered user has a problem with you they should email you, how about if you have a problem with DRA you email some of them, instead of mouthing off about their events.

[Rennie]

I'm not whinging - I'm pointing out problems that I can see occuring. We had 2 BBQ's for £10, and seeing as we didn't have a massive take up for subs, I think that's quite good as we now own the BBQ and can use it when we need to.

The halloween party at DRA was a bit of a joke, only the committee turned up.

However, I can't be arsed posting on this thread any more. Stupid unregistered user posts that are plainly incorrect in what they say are quite annoying, especially when it's turned into a personal attack upon myself.

I know a lot of people who agree with me, and I don't really give a shit about your ball's success - it's not like I'll be going.

[Sarahbails]

I'd just like to say, I am very excited about this upcoming ball and wouldn't miss it for the world. I know a lot of the DRA committee members and I know that they work their tails off for DRA. At my home university the people who plan these sorts of activities get paid a stipend and they still don't do or care as much as I have seen from the DRA committee in the 2 months I've been here. I think they deserve praise and I'm glad to stand up and give it.