COLUMN: Feeling a HOWL of a headache after event
Based on the crowd at the HOWL this year, I can assume that many of you reading this haunted the party in your own creative costume Saturday night. Like me, if you participated in the main attractions of the Howl, you likely left with a headache. In my opinion, the line to get into the annual Halloween bash here at Utah State was only the beginning of a night of poor planning. I just didn’t expect it to be that long. True, I did show up at around 9 p.m. which seems to be prime time for Howl attendees. Even so, entering through the South door of the TSC seems like a terrible waste of the Sunburst Lounge.
Last year, entering the party was a relative breeze through the Fieldhouse. There was music in the Sunburst lounge, and performances by the magician and dance teams took place in the Ballroom. For me, it seemed less crowded and better organized in this format. This year the hallway of the TSC was clogged as the Sunburst Lounge was blocked off entirely. While the line stretched beyond the institute in the cold fall weather, the interior switchbacks sat mostly empty as a trickle of costume clad party goers passed by zombie-themed volunteers meant to scare them.
All safety and fire hazard issues aside, it seems like it would make more sense to keep the line inside, as was done in previous years, allowing the scores of skimpy costume wearers to keep warm. Once inside, however, this became the least of my concerns. My group chose to beat the rush to the magician by hitting the 9:30 showing. Believe it or not, his dismal performance was not the worst part! In case you have never taken a physics course, the acoustics in a vast space consisting of a cement floor, brick walls, and an un-insulated metal roof are TERRIBLE! The echo made it nearly impossible to hear the bad jokes and inane banter paired with predictable tricks performed by the “magician.”
To escape the disappointment, my friends and I made our way to the ballroom. The music was good for dancing, of course. Again, however, the crowding was excessive. Last year, the Sunburst lounge allowed room to breathe. Not to mention the disaster waiting to happen if the hundreds of people had to suddenly exit the ballroom through the single door.
After a sufficient amount of sweating, we went back to the Fieldhouse. Remember what I said about the acoustics? A one man show with a microphone was bad enough. A four-man band with drums, distorted guitar, and over-amplified bass reverberating off every surface literally rattles the brain. I am not sure how anybody could think a loud concert in a metal box was a good idea.
Now, I enjoyed the Howl. The only problem was poor planning. It worked last year, not so much this year. Apparently, the not-broke plan needed fixing, just to shake things up. Perhaps next year they should have the dance party in the Sky Room, the entrance through the statesman office, and the magician performing in the hub behind one of the columns. Live music in the Quick Stop anybody?
But seriously, I do appreciate all the volunteers and their attempt to make a bad plan work. I was almost scared by the zombie with the white painted face and stumbling posture. Oh wait; maybe that was Lady Gaga … same difference. So, until next year, let’s hope they return to the working format and schedule a genuine magician.
Tyler Barlow is a sophomore majoring in computer science engineering. He can be reached at tyler.barlow@aggiemail.usu.edu