This year's Winter Bash will barely resemble the crowded Gantcher Center event of years past.
As part of an extensive overhaul of the annual dance by Programming Board, Winter Bash will be held at the Sheraton Boston Hotel on Feb. 5 and entry will cost $10. The event will also have a new name, which will be chosen by the end of this month as a result of a renaming contest this week.
Office for Campus Life Director Joe Golia said the move came about after "significant problems" with the old format of Winter Bash, which is traditionally held in the Gantcher Center and features a DJ station and "pub section" for students 21 and over.
Though Gantcher has historically provided a sufficient facility for Fall Ball, cold winter weather complicates logistics, like providing bathroom facilities and busing students to and from the athletic facility, Golia said.
"Everything is different in the winter — it's not as easy as saying, ‘Fall Ball worked there, so let's do Winter Bash there,'" Golia said. "To do it as it had traditionally been done — the facility would not be able to handle it."
Programming Board Co-Chair Sarah Habib, a junior, said that the off-campus venue would offer a welcomed change, making the winter event distinct from Tufts' other dances. "Historically, Winter Bash has always been just another Fall Ball," Habib said. "Now, it'll be Winter Bash."
Particularly rowdy student behavior, including public urination and reports of harassment toward student volunteers, marked last year's event.
Habib said that alcohol-related concerns prompted a "big hesitation" among Programming Board members to move the event to an outside location, but hosting the dance in Boston proved an opportunity too good to pass up.
"We took a big risk in moving the event off campus," she said. "We put trust in the students that they'll behave off campus downtown."
Habib cited social events such as the Leonard Carmichael Society's Vegas charity night and the Senior Gala, which was also held at the Sheraton last year, as examples of events at which students behaved appropriately at a non-Tufts venue.
"I think when we take kids off campus and out of the environment, they act better because sometimes you treat things nicer when you're away from your own home," she said.
Habib said that if behavior similar to that of last year's dance was to occur at the hotel, the university would be liable for all the damage.
"The school will have to pay for it [but] we don't foresee that happening," she said.
Golia echoed hopes that the new location would create a different atmosphere. "This event can be amazing, and a lot of fun, and a great new tradition," he said.
Still, not all students are pleased with Programming Board's decision to move the venue to Boston.
"I think the most fun part of Winter Bash has been to go whenever you want and leave really easily," senior Michelle Nguyen said. "It loses a little part of what Winter Bash has always been."
Tickets to the event will be available at the campus center information booth. Lines snaked around blocks in September when students vied for a limited number of tickets to Fall Ball, but there will be no limit on the number of tickets sold for the winter event.
"Whoever wants a ticket can get one," Habib said.
Habib said she expects between 3,000 and 3,500 students to attend, an estimate based on figures from previous years.
This will also be the first time the annual event has a fee, which will go toward paying for the off-campus venue. The ticket cost is not final, but both Golia and Habib expect that tickets will be no more than $10.
Habib believes the ticket price is "very inexpensive for what you're getting."
Approximately 40 buses will be on hand to provide service to and from the event, according to Habib, and a buffet with various hot and cold appetizer and dessert-style food will also be available.
Despite these amenities, Nguyen still found the ticket cost to be a deterrent. She said she would definitely go to the dance if it were free and held on campus, but is reconsidering after hearing about the changes.
"It's going to discourage a lot of people from going," she said. "It's a little bit of a deterrent to have to pay and know that it's going to be kind of a trek to get there."
The event at the Sheraton will stretch across two rooms. The main room will be alcohol-free and feature music by GrooveBoston, the DJ company that has provided music for past Fall Balls and Winter Bashes.
A smaller room across the hallway will have a pub area for students 21 and over and a student DJ.
Tufts University Police Department officers will provide security on campus during the bus departure process. Once at the Sheraton, Boston Police Department officers and Tufts Emergency Medical Services will be on hand throughout the night to ensure safety, Habib said.
Despite measures to separate the pub area from the main event room, sophomore Alex Stein voiced concerns about student safety. "I'm not sure that it can be as easily controlled" as it would be if held on campus, Stein said.
Upon hearing about the room separation planned for the Sheraton, Nguyen speculated that it would be similar to the design of former Winter Bashes and would do little to cut down on intoxication.
"I think people will drink a lot either way," she said.
Habib said ideas to overhaul Winter Bash had been circulating since last year's event, but the revamping process officially began over the summer. Programming Board finalized the contract with the hotel last Monday. Habib said the board intentionally waited until the contract with the Sheraton had been finalized before publicizing the event.
Golia said the timing of the release of information is not out of the ordinary. "We wouldn't even start talking about Winter Bash until now anyway," Golia said.
In the meantime, a number of rumors circulated about planned changes.
"I heard there was going to be a different dance for swine flu people in a tent on the Res Quad," junior Sharon Cho said.
As part of the efforts to change the event, Programming Board will host a renaming contest for Winter Bash this week.
Junior Royi Gavrielov, a member of student marketing communications group Imaginet, approached Programming Board with the idea for the contest. Habib said the board intended to change the name early on but was struggling to come up with a title when Gavrielov suggested the contest.
Programming Board will be accepting student submissions for new names until Nov. 24. The winner will receive two free tickets to the dance.
Golia said that he expects some negative reaction to the changes. "When things change, people don't like it. But change is good, and trying something new is exciting."
Programming Board member Meredith Dworkin, a sophomore, said she was enthusiastic about Winter Bash's new look.
"It'll be a fun change," Dworkin said. "It's going to be an exciting event."
Junior Han Chen agreed. "That sounds way more classy than it usually is," he said, referring to the dance's new location. "And I'm all about being classy."
Alexandra Bogus contributed reporting to this article.
