Chris JonesSix students on the Campus Activities and Programming Board attended a “conference that links the higher education and entertainment communities in a business and learning partnership, creating educational and business opportunities for our student and professional members,” Jason Bozzone, director of student activities, said.
The National Association for Campus Activities Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference was held in Lancaster, Pa., from Oct. 20-23 with over 1,000 colleges in attendance. The three-day long event gave student leaders a chance to “get a better understanding of how to become a better leader on campus,” sophomore Craig Vagell said.
The attendees of the conference included CAP Board members: John Verdi, chair, Mike Sofia, co-chair, Jeff Sy, co-chair, Tina Shelley, Jana Fagotti and Craig Vagell, all coordinators.
The conference was “guaranteed to bring forth great opportunities for you and your school to learn, network and conduct business,” Kristen Hyman, 2002 conference chair, said.
The five different themes for the conference gave students a chance learn about different entertainment options and opportunities for college campuses. “We attended five showcases and sat in a club atmosphere and different acts performed for 15 minutes each,” Verdi said. Among the acts that the students watched are magicians, ventriloquists, musical bands, musical trios, individual singers, hypnotists, comedians and game shows.
The students also attended other sessions that taught them ways to better draw the campus in to an event and how to bring more exciting entertainment to campus. However, the students also benefited personally as they were taught how to handle life after college and how to prepare for that life. “We attended ed sessions, which are information sessions, about how we can promote more on campus, how we can bring a big concert to a small campus, different things to deal with the future after we graduate and how to build your resume,” Verdi said.
The goal of the conference and the reason that members of the CAP Board were sent was to bring a wider variety of activities for students to attend and take part in. The conference was a way for these students to have a chance to “co-op buy” different entertainment acts for the campus community during the spring semester.
The final planning stages for some entertainment events for the upcoming semester are in process. Some activities that are being thought about are coffee houses, a hypnotist/comedian, illusionists and a band for Spring Fling.
