Howl sells out
Utah State University’s famous Halloween party, the Howl, continued its traditions Saturday with a sell-out crowd and a few arrests.
The Howl sold out at the fire code capacity limit of 6,000 at 9:50 p.m., almost an hour earlier than last year. The event’s organizer, Jacob Scott, was pleased with how this year’s Howl turned out.
“I am so happy with the way everything turned out,” Scott said. “The staff and volunteers were huge in the success and we accomplished the goals I set for the event.”
Scott credited the selling out to the popularity of the artist, Mike Posner, and the reach of the event’s many advertisements.
“It could be because we marketed differently than last year or it could be because we marketed the name Mike Posner more and bigger on the posters and all of our social media,” Scott said.
Scott said that in order to sell out, the Howl needed the proper entertainment.
“Selling out all depends on the entertainment,” he said. “Last year we had Shiny Toy Guns and they sold out. The year before they chose not to have a singer, they brought a hypnotist and a contortionist instead and they didn’t sell out. I think having the artist brings a different and bigger crowd.”
Scott and his planning committee realize that the nature of having a party as big as the Howl comes with risks and potential hazards.
“Because it’s Halloween everyone is in party mode,” Scott said. “We are expecting people to be drinking and under the influence of who knows what. People who come to the Howl tend to act crazy but they are there to have a good time and that’s just the nature of the dance and concert. We want everyone to have fun, we are here to increase student life but with that comes risk.”
This year’s crowd kept volunteers and police officers busy throughout the night. Officers from Logan City Police Department, Utah Highway Patrol and the USU Police Department were in attendance for crowd control and law enforcement.
“There are no final numbers yet, but I can tell you that we were kept very, very busy,” said Lieutenant Jeff Simmons of the Logan City Police Department. “A final arrest tally hasn’t been determined yet but will be in the next few days.”
Despite not having an exact number of arrests made, Simmons said this was the worst Howl for arrests of the past few that he has overseen.
“We brought ten officers and I know that one pair alone had seven arrests in a parking lot that were alcohol related,” Simmons said. “It had been pretty mellow for the last few years, but this is the worst Howl I’ve been to by far.”
In addition to the large number of police officers present, the staff and volunteers in charge of the Howl went through training to identify and address people who were a threat to public safety.
“There are risks at any event we have, whether its Po-Bev or High Stakes Bingo or the Howl,” Scott said. “We are always on the lookout for potential dangers, but it is hard when you have 6,000 people in one venue at one time. We have about 120 trained volunteers that go through a risk management and crowd control program and training that is done through the police department.”
Despite the police being kept busy, Scott said that there were only minor issues they had to deal with at this year’s Howl.
“We changed the way the students enter and exit the Fieldhouse and, after last night, I think we will go back to doing it the way before for Mardi Gras,” Scott said. “There was more congestion than there has been in the past. It’s always a learning process.”
Scott believes that the changes made for this year’s Howl were well received. Some of those changes included the artist, Mike Posner, the reintroduction of Club Hub, and new sponsors, in particular Rockstar Energy Drink.
“Club Hub was the only new thing I brought back,” Scott said. “It was a little slow to take off at the beginning but the last two hours of the event were pretty packed down there. I have only good things to say about our sponsors, especially Rockstar. They were so great to work with as well the entire weekend and made the Howl like never before.”
Scott said that he knew that this year’s Howl would be a success because of the amount of student participation at USU.
“What I love so much about Utah State so much is that the students want to go to the events, they want to have fun. I know that the students are going to go: it’s on campus, it’s on the weekend and its something fun to do and people love Halloween.”
—christopherfarnes@aggiemail.usu.edu