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DSU’s Halloween Pub Night “a Success”

Minor scuffles fail to mar evening

By JJ McCullough

Ps some controversies Over
security, last week’s Halloween pub
night, hosted by the Douglas Students’
Union, was largely a success according
to organizers.

“It was a great event,” said Alyisa
MacGrotty, the DSU External Relations
Officer. “The overall feeling was really
enthusiastic. The members seemed to be
really happy to be socially involved and
part of a campus community.”

The event, which was held on the
night of October 30 at 6 pm, saw the
DSU’s upstairs lounge crammed to
over capacity with dozens of costumed
students, attracted by promises of
cheap beer and free pizza. A live DJ
entertained the crowd as guests danced
and chatted. Guests partied well past

nidnight, and doors did not formally
close until 1 am.

Though drunken antics were in
predictable abundance, the only
significant disturbance of the evening
was a single “minor episode,” according
to DSU the Aboriginal Liaison Wendy
Case. A drunken student had to be
escorted off the premises by security at
one point after he allegedly smashed a
hole in a hallway of the DSU building.
Some other property damage was
inflicted as well, with several items in
the men’s bathroom being significantly
smashed, though DSU officials claimed
to not know who was responsible.

Police officers showed up at the
party twice during the course of the
evening, though Alysia MacGrotty was
quick to downplay the relevance. “They
basically showed up, looked around,
and said ‘this party is under control,”
she said.

Though the night itself was
successful, planning the pub night had
had been a source of some internal

   

controversy at the DSU itself,
with certain members of the board
feeling that the event had been
hastily thrown together. The event
only narrowly survived a 4-3 vote
of approval at an early October
subcommittee meeting, and a final
budget was not approved until less
than a week before the 30".

There is likewise some ongoing
debate within the DSU over how
successful the party’s security
was. Rather than hire Paladin
Security, who provide campus
security for Douglas College, the
DSU opted to hire former board
member Glenn Banania, and his
two associates, to handle the job.
Banania works professionally in
security, but is still in the process
of applying for a business licence
to run a security firm of his own.
According to Geoffery Lenahan,
who co-ordinated the pub night,

the decision to hire Banania’s team

was largely motivated as a way to
cut costs, but some concerns were

raised about his group’s work ethic.

According to college relations

coordinator Matthew Steinbach, the

DSU’s receiver manager, Marne
Jensen, has since decreed that only

Paladin will be hired for subsequent

events.
Despite the controversies, the

pub night was undoubtedly popular.

Long line-ups for at the bar saw
the party’s beer supply sell out

around midnight, and an inside deal
helped the DSU procure pizza from

Panago at below cost. According
to Wendy Case, the event actually
turned a profit overall, though it
remains unclear if the margin will
be significant enough to cover the
vandalism damages.

   
 
 
  
  
 
  
 
  
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
  
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
  
  
  
  

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PHOTO BY ALLY MacGROTTY