A new location and DJ will save money and make Winter Bash a more distinctive event this year, according to Programming Board organizers.
The move to a new venue at the the Westin Copley Place Boston Hotel was chosen based on availability, according to Office for Campus Life (OCL) director Joe Golia.
"The Westin happened to be available and also happened to fit the space," Golia said, adding that the annual Senior Gala was held at the Westin the past two years.
He explained that the Sheraton Boston Hotel, last year's location, was not available on the necessary date, so the OCL and Programming Board chose from other hotels in the area.
Programming Board Co-Chair Christopher Blackett said that he believes students will enjoy the Westin as much as the Sheraton.
"The Copley Place Hotel is an amazing hotel with a great view of Boston, so I think it's nice to get Tufts students out of our campus and into an area of Boston so they can see the city," Blackett, a senior, said.
Winter Bash will also feature a new DJ duo, The Jane Doze, instead of the DJ and dance party company GrooveBoston that has performed in years past, according to Blackett.
The Jane Doze is a DJ duo based out of New York that specializes in "an upbeat fusion of a dynamic and eclectic hodgepodge of artists," according to its website.
Blackett explained that the switch to the new DJ from GrooveBoston was done for budgeting reasons.
"One of our main concerns is always saving money, so that we can spend our funds in better places, so the Office of Campus Life ... actually suggested using a different DJ as opposed to GrooveBoston," he said.
Programming Board Co-Chair Mayan Lendner said that GrooveBoston's absence will give this year's Winter Bash a slightly different tone from previous events.
"We thought [GrooveBoston] was more of a Fall Ball kind of thing, with the big light show and everything," Lendner, a senior, said. "It might not be as big of a light show as Fall Ball was, but it's still [something] that people will enjoy."
Tickets were also offered for sale this year at the information booth in the Mayer Campus Center, but most students choose to buy tickets online through the Tufts Tickets website, Golia said.
The budget for Winter Bash includes anticipated ticket sale revenues, according to Assistant Director of Campus Life David McGraw. The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate allocated $91,960 towards Winter Bash this year, he said.
OCL and Programming Board also changed the number of bus departure times from five to four, removing the 10 p.m. option, according to Golia.
"We found that it takes a while to get there on a bus, so the students on the latest bus time in past years were really getting there late," he said. "We're hoping that this will get the students there ... at a reasonable time."
Golia noted that the Westin presents different logistical challenges for getting students into the event.
"[The] entrance is going to be a little bit tighter, and there's less space once you're getting in and checking in with your ticket, but then when you get into the event it's bigger than we've ever had," he said.
Additionally, the 21-plus section will be located on a separate floor from the main area, according to Golia.
"It's like its own separate event, and it's in this beautiful room with windows that overlook the city," he said.
Senior Logan Cotton will be the DJ for the 21-plus section, following the tradition of having a student DJ for that section, according to Blackett.
As in previous years, students will still need both their ticket and a Tufts ID to enter the section, and the names on the ticket and ID will have to match, Golia said.
Blackett and Lendner both said that they believe Winter Bash generally provides a different atmosphere from Programming Board's other major events, such as Fall Ball and Spring Fling.
"Fall Ball is
like a huge glorified dance party, but ... what I like most about Winter Bash is it's actually well lit, there's a lot of good food, there's a 21-and-up section [and] a lot of places to sit down," Blackett said.
Golia noted that though Winter Bash includes several changes this year, Programming Board and OCL are working to maintain the event's success from previous years.
"[Winter Bash last year] did go fairly well, and we're moving along with that," he said.
