Reactions to the restrictions on Friday's Fall Ball have been mixed, but one thing is for sure: This dance was different from those of past years.
For many upperclassmen, Fall Ball had been a tradition that stayed largely unchanged throughout their academic career at Tufts.
"A lot of upperclassmen didn't go because of the changes made to Fall Ball. It just wasn't the same. And those who did go didn't show up until at least 10:30 or 11 p.m.," senior Zach Bordonaro said.
Sophomore Daniel Meer, a resident assistant in Metcalf, saw a similar reaction from younger students.
"The changes turned Fall Ball into a regular Friday. I was more excited about Sushi Shabbat [a Tufts Chabad event that night]. Most freshmen returned to their dorms [after the dance] and went to other parties," he said.
Whereas students in previous years gained entry simply by showing their Tufts identification at the door, students had to pick up a ticket to this year's Fall Ball at the campus center, and occupancy was capped at 2,500. The dance ended an hour earlier than it had in the past, and doors closed at 11 p.m.
Bordonaro said the stricter setup and earlier start meant the dance took a while to heat up.
"At first I was impressively underwhelmed," he said. "My friends and I went just before 10 p.m., and there was hardly anyone there. Once [the] Gantcher [Center] started to fill up, though, it became the Fall Ball experience I've come to know and love."
For some, the ticket lines wrapping around the campus center this week was reason enough not to attend.
"I saw the lines and just thought, ‘It's definitely not worth the wait to go to an oversized high school dance,'" junior Zach Meyer said. "It was fun in the past, but the ease was part of the fun."
