"Late Nite at BSU" is an alternative to drinking

Starting in early 1994, I worked for my first-ever newspaper, The Northern Student, the student newspaper at Bemidji State University, where I attended and received my bachelor's degree in mass communication. Over three years, I would be a staff writer, news editor, managing editor and editor. I wrote everything from news stories to feature stories to sports stories to opinion pieces. It was the greatest training ground a journalist could ever have, and I am grateful to the many talented people I worked alongside in my years at The NS.

Oct. 5, 1994

By Devlyn Brooks

News Editor

Over 500 people attended "Late Nite at BSU," an event which offered games, contests, and entertainment as an alternative to drinking at the bars. In addition, over 50 student clubs and organizations took part in the organizational fair held in conjunction.

BSU Intramural Co-directors Jeff Stinson and Nichie Bendt, who coordinated the event, deemed it a success.

"We're not throwing (these programs) out there, trying to attract everybody all the time. We just want to put something out there that can be used as an alternative to drinking," said Stinson.

This will also be the main focus of similar programs sponsored by the Rec Center in the future, he said.

The idea of "Late Night at BSU" is actually a spin-off of a program sponsored by the National Intramurals Recreational Sports Association.

"Other campuses have offered it as a one-time-a-year event," Stinson said, "whereas BSU is trying to schedule an alternative every Thursday night."

However, the entire content of these "alternative events" hasn't been determined yet. A few activities have been planned, but the destiny of these Thursday night events won't be decided until the end of winter quarter. At that time, the program will be evaluated to determine its success.

Nevertheless, Stinson believes the "Late Nite" program and other related events are here to stay. "I think a lot of people had a good time," he said. "Obviously, there is some interest in alternative activities to drinking."

The audience at "Late Night" proved to be a varied one.

"Our target, at first, was actually the dorms," Bendt said. "But after seeing and talking to people, we learned we had a lot from off-campus who came to check out what they had heard."

She believes many of these people will also come to future activities.

Most activities won't be offered on such a large scale as "Late Night." For example, it might be as little as keeping the Rec Center open later on Thursday nights just to play volleyball.

Though, Stinson said, "I can see something around Christmas turning into a fairly extensive one."

Some tentative plans are to have a Christmas party at the Rec Center, where students could order non-alcoholic drinks from a mock bar and get their pictures taken with Santa.

Another idea is to ask students to sign a contract promising they will not drink and drive over the holidays.

The goal is for students to have fun, said Bendt and Stinson.

"That was one of the reasons for success at 'Late Night at BSU,'" added Stinson. "We said, 'We have to make sure they have a good time or they won't come back.'"

Both Bendt and Stinson believe they accomplished this goal. There were 300 people in attendance for the belly-flop contest, for instance.

"There was standing room only," Bendt said.

Other popular events at "Lat Night" included the Family Feud game, the tie-dyed T-shirt table, and Fun Flicks. Fun Flicks was a unique form of starring in your own music video. Students dressed up in costumes and performed to the tune of popular songs -- all before a camera and an on-looking crowd. The students also had the choice of purchasing their videos on tape.

The high participation in the volleyball tournament surprised the Rec Center staff. There were so many teams waiting at 11:30 p.m., three separate tournaments were run on three separate courts. "They didn't leave until we kicked them out," said Bendt. That was at 1 a.m.

According to Stinson, SAFAC funded most of "Late Night," but he contends that it was a relatively cheap event. HUPB paid for the Fun Flicks, and the Rec Center used its own regular staff to help throughout the entire evening.

Bendt and Stinson said that "Late Night at BSU" was so popular this year, people around the Rec Center are already asking, 'What should we do next year?'"