The Student Center Programs Council (SCPC) hosted the Sting Break Festival in the Student Center on Thursday, April 8, 2010. The festival would have been in the Burger Bowl as was last year’s event, but the SCPC moved it indoors due to inclement weather. Free of charge to students, the Sting Break festival consisted of free Tech paraphernalia and food. Additionally, freShGA hosted a block party with free cotton candy and sunglasses in conjunction with the festival, and the Freshman Activities Board (FAB) hosted a tie-dying booth for the free T-shirts.
“Tech is a challenging place, but we wanted to show students we care about them,” said Matt LeBrun, SCPC festivals chair and third-year MGT major. He described the festival as a student appreciation day, which was also accompanied by an evening concert by Jet.
“It would have been better outside, but it was fun overall [with] lots of free stuff. I think everyone had a great time, and tie-dye was FABallin!” said Thevuthasan Senthuran, first-year ME and a member of FAB.
“It was nice to be able to stop in the middle of my otherwise hectic schedule to see friends and grab food at the same time,” said Dimple Bansal, first-year ISyE major.
Over 1800 students attended the festival, according to LeBrun. The numbers exceeded the SCPC’s expectations, even though the festival occurred in a contained area.
“It condensed things a bit, but offered a much more excited atmosphere,” LeBrun said in favor of the indoor venue, noting its centralization as a reason for higher attendance.
“There were a lot of worries because of the rain, but I think moving it indoors was a big help because there were a lot of people. It felt more crowded, but it was a ‘busy’ crowded,” said Sangita Sharma, SCPC Special Events chair and first-year AE major.
The breakdown of the funds for the event included $12,000 from campus BuzzFunds and $9075 from Student Activity Fees (SAF). The Alumni Association and Coca-Cola donated the Chik-Fil-A sandwiches and beverages, respectively. The cost of this year’s festival came out to approximately $16,449 dollars, compared to the 2009 festival cost of $28,676, according to LeBrun. Lebrun noted that because of the weather, the cost dropped as the SCPC had to cancel its most expensive events, including a Tornado ride, laser tag and rock-climbing wall.
“With budget cuts across campus, for next year, the SCPC’s budget is a bit lower than this year. However, the Student Center is highly committed to putting on great programming. As such, I don’t see this affecting next year’s Sting Break festival at all,” LeBrun said.