MidKnight Madness Cancelled

BY ELIZABETH VALENTIN Arts Editor

The annual Midknight Madness event has been cancelled with few details released to the student body. Midknight Madness was a beloved event with attendance rates between 500 and 700 a year. The news of cancellation has not been formally announced to the students.

Midknight Madness served as a pep rally and the college’s version of a homecoming celebration. The basketball teams were introduced and meant to be the stars of the event. It was supposed to be the biggest representation of school spirit of the year.

“The main reason that the athletics department has stepped away from sponsoring this event is that it changed significantly over the years and is no longer featuring the basketball teams,” said Cathy Haker, Director of Athletics and Recreation.

Haker, along with other members of the athletics de- partment, said that Midknight Madness was no longer about the athletes and became more about the entertainment. Veteran performers at Midknight Madness included the Golden Knights Dance Team, Knights in Motion, and the ALANA Steppers, along with other performers.

Haker also noted that there were concerns regarding “crowd control and access to the event by non-Saint Rose students.” The conduct of attendees often became rowdy as many of the people in attendance arrived intoxicated.

Both issues that Haker mentioned were echoed by Karen Haag, coach of the women’s basketball team. She said that the event became less about the teams. In addition, she stressed the importance of conduct at the event. She states “Last year, there were a lot of people in that gym,” she said. “There wasn’t adequate security and people from outside of Saint Rose.”

SEE MADNESS/A3

SUNY Albany, Sage College, Schenectady Community College, and Albany High School.

The criteria to enter the film festival included a maximum duration of 15 minutes and a PG-13 or lower rating. The festival included three documentaries, four dramas, three comedies, and three animations.

After viewing all of the films, the audience was given the opportunity to vote for their favorite film. Following this, there was also a question and answer session, which allowed the audience to have a chance to ask questions towards the filmmakers.

Kate Pierce was the only featured filmmaker to represent Saint Rose at this event with her film Without You. When asked about her inspiration for the film, she said “The deep answer is that my film partner, Sam [Lund], and I wanted to do a story about life after death. The real answer is that we wanted to make a film