TECHNICIAN
monday august
23 2010
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
‘Silent Disco’ sets U.S. record for attendance Inter-Residence Council finds success in new party trend.
83 percent approval,” Gower said. “We knew the event would be really expensive, so we didn’t want to go forward with the idea unless there was a lot of Jessica Neville support.” Science & Tech Editor IRC paid the more than $20,000 More than 550 students broke a re- price tag out of its budget, with help from the Union Activities Board and cord in silence over the weekend. The Inter-Residence Council hosted Student Government. Ethan Harrelson, a senior in biola Silent Disco Saturday night at Talley Student Center, featuring music ogy and student senator, handed out played on headphones rather than out glow sticks from Student Government loud. The event was the largest event at Silent Disco. “SG thought Silent Disco was an of its kind in the U.S. to date, with more than 550 students in attendance. awesome idea and wanted to support Dakota Bentz, a freshman in bio- IRC,” Harrelson said. “Our goal is to medical engineering, said she decided empower students, and we were able to do this by doto attend Silent nating money to D i s c o b e c au s e co-sponsor the it was free and event and buy sounded exciting. glow sticks.” “I’m having a The Gay, Leslot of fun so far,” bian, Bisexual Bentz said at the and Transgenevent. “Everyone der Center also is dancing and the supported the DJs music is good.” event, and set IRC executive up a booth at boa rd member the event to give K r i s G ower, a students more junior in interKris Gower, junior in information on national studies, international studies how they can presented the idea ge t i nvolved for the Silent Disco to the IRC last fall after attending a with the organization. Adam Ward, a senior in environsimilar event in London. “We wanted to think outside of the mental science, said IRC was giving box, and this was basically the big- the organization “face time, because gest and craziest idea I could come a lot of students haven’t heard that up with,” Gower said. “Everyone im- GLBT is open to anyone and don’t mediately loved the idea and knew we know what the organization is about.” Ward said there was a line out to had to try it.” Initially, IRC surveyed University Owen dorm, approximately 600 feet, residents to see how much interest when he was walking to Silent Disco. “It’s a big success,” Ward said. there would be in the event, accordA unique aspect of the event was ing to Gower. “Our results were really high, I think the presence of two DJs that students
“We wanted to think outside of the box, and this was basically the biggest and craziest idea I could come up with.”
MARISA AKERS/TECHNICIAN
Caroline Sellers, a sophomore in English, and Adam Cheek, a freshman in arts application, dance during the Silent Rave. “It’s really cool,” Cheek said. “I’ve never heard of a silent disco until I came here.”
could choose between on their own can silent disco company, provided headphones. The DJs competed to the headphones and technology for the event. Gower have more stusaid IRC had inidents listening tially planned to to their music completely prothroughout the duce the event, night. but were excited “I like the com- Check out Wolf TV’s coverage of Friday to hear about a petition between Fest. compa ny t hat the DJs,” Bentz specialized in this said. “I’ve been listening to DJ A most of the night.” type of production. Silent Events Inc., the first Ameri“I didn’t hear about this company
VIEW MORE
NCSU.EDU/WOLFTV
Friday Fest draws 6,000 attendees The sold-out event cost approximately $115,000. Chelsey Francis More than 6,000 people attended the University’s annual Friday Fest, headlined by alternative rock band Lifehouse. The Los Angeles band performed songs like “First Time,” “Whatever it takes,” “Hanging by a Moment,” “You and Me” and “Halfway Gone.” According to Bobby Fitzjohn, vicepresident of the Union Activities Board and senior in natural resources, this year’s Friday Fest cost more than previous years. “The cost increased with the larger act being brought to campus. There is a huge difference between what Josh Gracin costs and what Lifehouse costs,” Fitzjohn said. “We went with a bigger name based on the response we had from students about previous concerts. Fitzjohn said UAB contributed about $80,000 of the approximate $115,000 needed to hold Friday Fest. “The total cost for the event was a little over $115,000. With the help of on and off campus partners, as well as selling few general admission tickets, we were able to bring the UAB’s contribution to around $80,000,” Fitzjohn said. “Much of this went to cover the headliner’s fee.” Phiroze Divecha, a sophomore in biomedical engineering, said he was very impressed with Friday Fest. “It was crazy,” Divecha said. “Sheer delight!” Zach Swann, a sophomore in FYC, said he was also impressed by the band. “We came because we’re huge fans,” Swann said. According to Swann, Friday Fest was much more than just a concert. “There was sumo-wrestling and all sorts of free [stuff],” Swann said. Spencer Bowman, a sophomore in civil engineering, said he was impressed with the number of people
Shivalik Daga Correspondent
MARISA AKERS/TECHNICIAN
Lifehouse members Jason Wade, lead singer, and Ben Carey, guitarist, perform on Lee Field during Friday Fest. The sold-out event had more than 6,000 in attendance.
attending Friday Fest and enjoyed the social aspect of the event. “There were so many people there, too,” Bowman said. “It was perfect for mingling.” According to Fitzjohn, the cost-perstudent associated with Friday Fest was much less than the cost of other concerts. “The UAB’s cost per student for this event was about $14.28. This is remarkably cheap if you compare it to any other concert of this magnitude,” Fitzjohn said. “You would easily pay $30 a ticket and still pay extra for food, drinks, T-shirts and all of the other free stuff given to students
Friday night.” According to Fitzjohn, UAB went with Lifehouse based on student responses. “We went with a bigger name based on the response that we had from students about previous concerts,” Fritzjohn said. “The total number of student tickets distributed was around 5,600.” Rhonda Lemon, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, said Lifehouse did what most bands do. “The last big song they per-
Save 25% on cost of your textbooks by buying used books at:
LIFEHOUSE continued page 3
NC State Bookstores "The Official Store for NC State Textbooks."
DISCO continued page 3
Tucker Hall competes to ‘work off the waste’ Students residing in Tucker Hall will have a chance this semester to compete for an EPA sustainability title.
Deputy News Editor
until March,” Gower said. “They played a big part in this event’s success.” The owner of Silent Events, Ryan Dowd, produced the first silent disco in the U.S. at Bonnaroo almost 10 years ago. “We were using corporate headphones at the time, and I saw that people had a lot of complaints about
Tucker Hall is one of 14 buildings nationwide competing for an EPA title in sustainability. Among the residence halls’ competitors is local rival UNC-Chapel Hill, which is likewise vying to “work off the waste” through improvements in energy efficiency with help from EPA’s ENERGY STAR program. The EPA will recognize the building that sheds the most energy waste on a percentage basis in late October 2010. David Dean, outreach and communications coordinator for sustainability and energy at the University’s Sustainability Office, is upbeat about this event and believes this recognition is well-deserved. “The fact that N.C. State’s Tucker Hall is one of 14 buildings nationally selected to take part in the EPA Energy Star building competition demonstrates the University is gaining national recognition as a sustainability leader,” Dean said. According Dean, the University has plans to achieve climate neutrality within the next 40 years with a
insidetechnician
BY THE NUMBERS buildings competing in 14 the EPA’s ‘working off the waste’ contest
1
million
amount the University plans to reduce its electric bill by
20
average annual electric bill for the University
25 to 40
percent of electric bill laboratory fume hoods on campus account for
million
SOURCE: OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY
three-pronged approach consisting of a five-year strategic plan, a five-year energy plan and a 40-year Climate Action Plan. Kristin Marley, Tucker Hall residence director, said most students are unaware of the contest and the University’s sustainability initiatives. But the overall atmosphere, she said, has been good so far and the initiative has received a positive response. According to Marley, every small step adds up and residents need to share the University’s vision in order to make this possible. Marley said students can help by switching off unused
WASTE continued page 3
‘V Week’ carries on Valvano’s legacy See page 10.
viewpoint features classifieds sports SPECIAL BACK TO SCHOOL HOURS: Wednesday - August 18 - 8am to 8pm Thursday - August 19 - 8am to 8pm Friday - August 20 - 8am to 6pm Saturday - August 21 - 10am to 5pm Sunday - August 22 - 1pm to 5pm
4 6 11 12