In an effort to enhance the sense of community at Johns Hopkins, the second annual Fall Festival was held this past weekend with events ranging from a comedy show to a midnight breakfast.
According to students and Festival staff, Friday's events were successful. Attendance at Saturday's activities, however, was lower than expected.
More than 1,500 Hopkins students and faculty attended Friday's kick-off cookout on the Beach, which featured a local steel drum band. Catered by Sodexho, the quality of food received generally average ratings from students. Last year, the event was catered by private contractor Zeffert and Gold and garnered higher approval. When asked about the rationale behind switching food contractors, Fall Festival chair Rosa Hanco replied, "Sodexho gave us a better bid in terms of providing more food and more personnel to staff events."
When asked about the quality of the food, senior Dorian Leary said, "The food isn't that great, but I'm hungry so I'm going to eat it anyway."
While the steel drum band played songs like "Killing Me Softly" by The Fugees, students were given the opportunity to unwind from the pressures of the week. Junior Ashok Linganna said, "The band is playing beautifully right now. Their musical standpoint is really interesting, and their use of percussion instruments is truly genius. You rarely ever see that."
Senior Catherine Horn said, "The dogs are playing, the cute little kids are having a good time; what's not to like?" Commenting on the good turnout for the opening cookout, Dean of Enrollment and Academic Services William Conley responded, "The Fall Festival is the best thing since sliced bread."
The comedy show also drew a considerable crowd, with more than 400 students packing into Shriver Hall. The show featured performances from host Jim Meyer and comedians Adam Ruben, a Hopkins graduate student, and Greg Girardo. After the show, sophomore Vikram Raja commented, "I really loved Girardo's performance. I couldn't stop laughing."
Another student, sophomore John Kernan, said, "Those exchanges between Girardo and the kid in the front row had to have been staged. Nobody can withstand that much ridicule and still keep coming back for more."
After the comedy show, more than 200 students headed over to Levering Lounge for Casino Night for casino games ranging from blackjack to Caribbean poker.
Sophomore blackjack dealer Brad Garcia said, "I was shocked that so many people showed up."
For those who did not want to gamble, there was also a pool table, air hockey table and televisions for video games.
Despite Friday's high attendance, the Festival's second day was less popular. Many events -- including the Student Organization vendor booths -- did not have a large turnout. Student Showcasing at the Glass Pavilion ended up being canceled due to last-minute dropouts by student groups.
Some students went to the HopStop for root beer floats and the Glass Pavilion to see the variety show. The show opened with a classical dance routine by freshman Anita Sivaraman and was followed by a singing performance by faculty members Craig Hankin and Tom Chalkley.
"The classical dance performance was fascinating," commented Wendy Brody, wife of President William Brody.
Hosts Scott Rogowsky and Adam Ruben also seemed to appeal to the audience. Sophomore Samantha Buyniski commented, "Scott and Adam were so charming. People weren't really laughing at first, but they ended up really drawing in the crowd with their back-and-forth banter."
Freshman Jackie Wallenmeyer said, "Although all the performances were amazing, I really enjoyed Dragonboat Racing. It was really unique and melodious."
The Pre-Dawn Breakfast, which was scheduled to run from 1 to 3 a.m. Sunday morning, was another popular event at Fall Festival. Sophomore Rebecca Messner commented, "The Midnight Breakfast was a great idea. It was a good place for people to come back to unwind after a night out and also enjoy some free food."
More than 700 students showed up for breakfast in the Glass Pavilion, although most ended up waiting in long lines before getting their meal.
Other students, however, were left disappointed. Senior Alex Hood, who walked over to the Glass Pavilion around 2 a.m., said, "On the way there, a student told us that it wasn't worth going to and he looked really disgusted. But we headed over anyway, and when we got there we saw that people were cleaning up the food. It was obvious that there wasn't any more food left."
Although he did not have high expectations for the event, Hood said, "The advertising made it sound like a real event, not like something that was going to last for the first hour and just end."
When questioned about the lack of attendance on the second day of the Fall Festival, director Rosa Hanco responded, "There was an e-mail sent to every student at Hopkins, and there were posters all over campus." But she acknowledged that turnout on the second day was not ideal.
She said ideas that will be taking into future consideration include shortening the Festival to a one day event and also tying it to another event to increase attendance. Other possible solutions could be found in increased advertising in "hot zones" -- such as Terrace and Wolman -- and in attracting students with more free food at events.
The comedy show also drew a considerable crowd, with more than 400 students packing into Shriver Hall. The show featured performances from host Jim Meyer and comedians Adam Ruben, a Hopkins graduate student, and Greg Girardo. After the show, sophomore Vikram Raja commented, "I really loved Girardo's performance. I couldn't stop laughing."
Another student, sophomore John Kernan, said, "Those exchanges between Girardo and the kid in the front row had to have been staged. Nobody can withstand that much ridicule and still keep coming back for more."
After the comedy show, more than 200 students headed over to Levering Lounge for Casino Night for casino games ranging from blackjack to Caribbean poker.
Sophomore blackjack dealer Brad Garcia said, "I was shocked that so many people showed up."
For those who did not want to gamble, there was also a pool table, air hockey table and televisions for video games.
Despite Friday's high attendance, the Festival's second day was less popular. Many events -- including the Student Organization vendor booths -- did not have a large turnout. Student Showcasing at the Glass Pavilion ended up being canceled due to last-minute dropouts by student groups.
Some students went to the HopStop for root beer floats and the Glass Pavilion to see the variety show. The show opened with a classical dance routine by freshman Anita Sivaraman and was followed by a singing performance by faculty members Craig Hankin and Tom Chalkley.
"The classical dance performance was fascinating," commented Wendy Brody, wife of President William Brody.
Hosts Scott Rogowsky and Adam Ruben also seemed to appeal to the audience. Sophomore Samantha Buyniski commented, "Scott and Adam were so charming. People weren't really laughing at first, but they ended up really drawing in the crowd with their back-and-forth banter."
Freshman Jackie Wallenmeyer said, "Although all the performances were amazing, I really enjoyed Dragonboat Racing. It was really unique and melodious."
The Pre-Dawn Breakfast, which was scheduled to run from 1 to 3 a.m. Sunday morning, was another popular event at Fall Festival. Sophomore Rebecca Messner commented, "The Midnight Breakfast was a great idea. It was a good place for people to come back to unwind after a night out and also enjoy some free food."
More than 700 students showed up for breakfast in the Glass Pavilion, although most ended up waiting in long lines before getting their meal.
Other students, however, were left disappointed. Senior Alex Hood, who walked over to the Glass Pavilion around 2 a.m., said, "On the way there, a student told us that it wasn't worth going to and he looked really disgusted. But we headed over anyway, and when we got there we saw that people were cleaning up the food. It was obvious that there wasn't any more food left."
Although he did not have high expectations for the event, Hood said, "The advertising made it sound like a real event, not like something that was going to last for the first hour and just end."
When questioned about the lack of attendance on the second day of the Fall Festival, director Rosa Hanco responded, "There was an e-mail sent to every student at Hopkins, and there were posters all over campus." But she acknowledged that turnout on the second day was not ideal.
She said ideas that will be taking into future consideration include shortening the Festival to a one day event and also tying it to another event to increase attendance. Other possible solutions could be found in increased advertising in "hot zones" -- such as Terrace and Wolman -- and in attracting students with more free food at events.
