Breaking it down beyond the Pause

For many St. Olaf students, the occasional Pause dance simply cannot satisfy a burning desire to groove out to some funky tunes.

For this reason, frequent dances at three local establishments – the Northfield Ballroom (formerly known as the Legion), the Grand and the Eagles Club – have become major fixtures on the weekend scene.

However, though the events are widely recognized and often highly attended, little is known about the behind-the-scenes work that makes them happen.

"I never had any idea who planned them and put them together," Jennika Bastian '13 said. "I always assumed it was just a community thing in Northfield."

Actually, these dances are almost exclusively orchestrated either by individual students or student groups. Luke Dueffert '10 explained the process.

"The actual process of hosting a dance at the Northfield Ballroom involves little more than picking an open date, finding a DJ and then advertising for it," Dueffert said, who recently co-hosted a Mardi Gras-themed dance there with fellow students David Anderson '10 and Chris Rivers '10.

"We initially got the idea from a group of students in charge of the Pre-Med club last year who hosted a dance as a fundraiser," Dueffert said. "All of the set-up and clean-up is taken care of by the employees of the Ballroom. Security for the doors and ticketing is also provided."

Though an overwhelming majority of the attendees at these dances are St. Olaf students, the college administration has no formal or informal connection to them. This means that every dance is the result of extensive independent planning by student organizers acting on their own initiative.

"Essentially the biggest responsibility that we, as those in charge of hosting, have involves making people aware of the dances," Dueffert said. "This is done entirely on Facebook because St. Olaf policy prohibits any type of print advertisement around campus as a result of problems in the past."

However, before publicity concerns are even relevant, there has to be an event to advertise. A major part of this project is finding and negotiating with the DJ or DJs who will staff the dance.

"Finding a DJ can be, and for us was, difficult," Dueffert said. "Luckily we found one that did a great job at a reasonable price."

Because there are no outside sources of funding, the organizers must also account for the financial side of the dances. Given the many substantial expenses involved in putting together events of this magnitude, level of attendance is crucial.

"There is a hefty down-payment required to reserve the dance floor and pay for security for the night, probably the largest obstacle in committing to host a dance," Dueffert said. "The cost of a DJ and equipment is not included in this price tag. If nobody comes, then there is no money to be made, which in the past has happened, costing thousands of dollars. Then again, if there is a large turnout, expenses can be covered and any extra comes directly to us. Word of mouth and picking the right date become incredibly crucial in this endeavor."

Therefore, the popularity of these dances with students is the sole factor motivating their recurring existence.

"Profits from alcohol and food sold during the dance are kept entirely by the Ballroom," Dueffert said. "We are in no way condoning or supporting that students consume alcohol while attending these events, a byproduct which is negatively associated with many such functions."

While alcohol-related problems are not directly caused by these events, the college administration still believes the correlation is significant enough that they need to take a strong opposing stance.

"Most of the problems that occurred on Halloween, where six students were hospitalized for alcohol toxicity and injury, were connected to the event at the Grand that evening," Dean of Students Greg Kneser said.

"Further, whenever those events occur, we have significant increases in neighborhood complaints about students being loud and disruptive coming to and from the events. The organizers seem to have little concern for this, and because of that, we can't have any connection to them, including allowing advertising on campus."

As these events are clearly being created by and for St. Olaf students, some believe that the school should take a more active role by either holding more on-campus dances or at least recognizing the need for transportation.

A&R Taxi, one of Northfield's cab services, went out of business this January, and the remaining public transportation options cannot handle the massive demand on the dance nights. Dozens of students were stranded in the cold outside the Grand after the Valentine's Day dance, and a similar scene occurred after the Mardi Gras dance at the Northfield Ballroom.

"I really enjoy attending the Grand and Ballroom dances," Anna Hilke '13 said. "However, with the lack of cab drivers in Northfield, finding transportation to and from the dances is very difficult. It would be great if St. Olaf would start doing some kind of transportation service on those nights. It doesn't feel safe to walk miles back to campus in the middle of the night, especially in the winter."

However, despite all of the challenges that arise from these dances, they remain extremely popular among students. There are some logistical obstacles to organizing such a large event, but Dueffert encourages other students to be proactive about making their visions of the ultimate dance party a reality. It can be done – and it has been done, many times before.

"My advice if you want to host a dance, especially as a fundraiser: all you have to do is come up with a unique theme, find an open date and Facebook away!" Dueffert said.

Apparently it will take more than a lack of event transportation to stop St. Olaf students from boogying on down, busting a move and dropping it like it's hot.
                 
joness@stolaf.edu