Tufts' Winter Bash Report Card

By Tyler Maher on February 18, 2013

A couple Friday nights ago Tufts kicked off the second semester with its annual Winter Bash, and it seems like most students enjoyed themselves. I had a great time as well, but the event fell short of perfection due to a few glaring deficiencies:

Food/Drink: B+

The finger food was nothing fancy, but I was pleased with the quantity and quality of it. There was something for everyone: pizza, chicken fingers, and veggie platters with dip. Sweet-toothed Jumbos were treated to an extensive dessert table featuring delicious cookies, bars, and brownies. Though still full from a hearty dinner at Dewick, I appreciated the bottomless pitchers of ice-cold water and soda.

Music: D

Though the school hired a new DJ group—The Jane Doze—in response to the overwhelming dissatisfaction with the music group used at Fall Ball (GrooveBoston), the results were mixed at best. While The Tufts Daily reported that winter-bashers gave the music positive reviews, I must say I strongly disagree. Though not quite as unbearable as Fall Ball’s soundtrack, Winter Bash’s beats barely qualify as improvement. The only thing worse than bad music is loud bad music, and let me tell you, it was loud alright.

Transportation: D

I walked down to Davis and took the T into the city—a memorable experience well worth the train fare—so I can’t say how smoothly the loading process went. I didn’t hear anyone complaining about the ride into Boston (though quite a few took cabs), but getting back was a nightmare. After emptying out of the hotel at one in the morning, hundreds of Jumbos were forced to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the bitter cold waiting for school buses to take them home. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the buses bypassed the Meyer Campus Center and dropped students off in the Art Gallery parking lot on Lower Campus Rd, making many winter bashers (myself included) walk all the way uphill in the frigid darkness. Winter Bash itself was great, but the 90 minutes between the end of the party and getting home were miserable. The worst part of the whole night, without a doubt.

Venue: A+

I understand why some people like Fall Ball more in this regard. After all, the Gantcher Center is close, convenient, and a short walk from most anywhere on Campus. But it’s still the gym, which is a nice way of saying it feels more like a junior-high mixer than a college mega-party. The Westin Copley Place Boston Hotel, on the other hand, epitomizes classiness. The event staff was accommodating, and the function room itself was spacious with plenty of room for dancing, mingling, and eating. There were also tables and chairs strategically placed around the perimeter for guests looking to sit down and catch their breath. The Westin was on par with the Sheraton Hotel that hosted last year’s Winter Bash.

Overall: B+

Despite the aforementioned hiccups and the party ending 20 minutes early, Winter Bash satisfied my expectations and lived up to its billing as one of the best (and biggest) Tufts parties of the year.

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