Fade in: Cue the James Bond theme music. Cue handsome men dressed in tailored tuxedos. Cue the gorgeous women on their arms. Cue the mission and the mysterious evildoers.
Based on the 1963 film and the well-known novels by Ian Fleming, “007: From Russia with Love” is coming to the Elizabethtown College campus. On Saturday March 21, the college’s annual Junior/Senior formal dinner and dance will commence with a theme properly titled 0015: From Etown with Love. This year’s venue will be the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square located on 25 South Queen Street just a few blocks from the Lancaster Central Market. Beginning at 6 p.m. with light hors d’oeuvres and drinks in the reception area, the evening concludes with a formal dinner and dancing starting at 7 p.m. This will be the first year the Lancaster Marriott will host the Junior/Senior dance.
As each Student Senate class has the chance to plan the Junior/Senior dance, attendees are very much unaware of how much work goes into putting on such a memorable event. This years’ responsibilities were in the hands of the Class of 2016 Student Senate members, who began organizing their ideas for a venue last April. They then started discussing possible themes toward the end of the school year, which brought them to make a decision between the themes of a Masquerade, the Oscars or James Bond. With the choice of 007 made, the senator’s next step was to plan and organize the details of the event.
“The 12 of us then split up into four committees with about three people per group of venue, decorations, entertainment, and invites and tickets.” Class of 2016 President, Adam Amspacher said. Each of the four committees was assigned a different task to complete. The venue committee decided the menu as well as booking and working with the Lancaster Marriott to create a great experience. The decoration committee came up with creative ways to incorporate everything James Bond into the event. The entertainment committee decided on a DJ to use. Lastly, the invitation and ticket committee were in charge of the design, sale and distribution of tickets and invitations to students. The committees then came together to agree upon a final decision for each task. “Each senator did a great job gathering and executing ideas to make this event what it will be,” Amspacher said. After the committee makes each decision it is passed along to Dean of Students Marianne Calenda for final approval.
With the goal of selling 350 tickets this year, the committee members sold about 100 tickets within the first day. Ticket sales were open to juniors, seniors and fifth year Occupational Therapy majors. The cost of the tickets was discounted five dollars on the first day of sales and was then set at $65 for juniors, seniors and $75 for non-junior and non-senior dates. With a high volume of students that still had not yet purchased tickets, the committee decided to extend the deadline in two two-hour increments on the Monday after spring break. An electronic option to purchase a ticket was also offered via email. In the last four days, the committees sold another 85 tickets making their total tickets sold come to 360. “I’m so happy of how successful this process has been and it’s all thanks to the senators,” Amspacher said.
For those of age, while we hope your drinks are shaken not stirred, Amspacher did suggest some ways to prepare as well as how to have a fun and safe time at the dance. “First and foremost, everyone should come excited and ready to have a great time. Second, come dressed looking classy,” Amspacher said. “Also, remember to bring your ID and refrain from bringing look alike props from the movie series, and lastly if you are of age and do choose to drink, make sure you have a designated driver to and from the Marriott,” Amspacher said. As a way to ensure safety, Calenda has offered to supply a bus to transport students to the Lancaster Marriott and back to campus at the end of the night. Please contact a member of Student Senate for more information.
From information and reactions of different students around campus, I now know I should have bought a ticket. I have to give the Student Senate a lot of credit for working so hard to plan an event with a creative theme. I expect to see many social media posts about each student’s positive experience about their night as a secret agent. When I asked Amspacher if he had heard any other student expectations about the dance he quickly answered with a smile, “I heard a lot of students getting ready for the awesome food that we chose. I can’t wait to see all of their faces, because that’s what makes what we do as senators worth it,” Amspacher said.
While I’m at home that night eating ramen noodles, I’ll be thinking of the experience that I will be missing out on celebrating yet another successful year as a Blue Jay.
