Esperanza IV: A new hope

By Nick Morales     9/25/08 7:00pm

Esperanza this year will not be held at an aquarium or a baseball stadium. Rather, Rice Program Council will host its fall formal on campus, in a tent located between the Shepherd School of Music and the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management. Esperanza will be held Saturday, Nov. 8 from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. RPC Formals Committee co-Chair Maggy Taylor said ticket costs are still up in the air. Though the official theme is undecided, RPC is considering a "blue and grey" motif, RPC President Michelle Kerkstra said.

The tent, which was initially provided for the Board of Trustees' Capital Campaign kick off event, held every ten years, will provide attendees with all the usual amenities.

"Its not a typical tent," Kerkstra, a Will Rice College junior, said. "It will be fully equipped with hardwood floors, windows, bathrooms, walls and air conditioning."

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The tent will completely cover the brick-paved area between the Jones School, the Shepherd School and the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy and will surround the Jones School fountain.

Because the kickoff happens once every ten years, RPC plans to host next year's Esperanza and spring formal Rondelet off campus.

Taylor, a Will Rice senior, said RPC expects 500-700 students to attend the dance. She said RPC is working to make the price of admission as cheap as possible.

Esperanza's location is not the only change to the dance this year- RPC scheduled the dance to coincide with the Homecoming concert, a new addition to the social agenda, which starts noon Nov. 7 in the Brochstein Pavilion quadrangle. Over 500 students requested artists they would like to see perform from a list of 21 bands in late August via the RPC Facebook page, and they selected The National, Hot Hot Heat and Gavin Degraw as the top three, in no particular order.

Currently, RPC and the Capital Campaign Committee are in the process of negotiating with the bands and booking agencies.

"We're looking to add new attractions to the usual Esperanza events," Formals Committee co-Chair Esra Gumuser said.

In spring 2007, RPC was forced to cancel Rondelet, the spring formal, due to financial issues, making such a display of extravagance a little surprising to some students.

"I'm a little amazed that they are able to do all this, but I'm looking forward to the festivities" Will Rice College sophomore Gaelyn Sicher- Ford said.

RPC's increased budget can be attributed to the adoption of other programs on campus.

"We have now consolidated the Passport [to Houston] program which hosts around 12 cultural events per year around Houston with [RPC's] Arts & Entertainment committee, which offers discount tickets to various Houston sporting, theatre and cultural events," Kerkstra, a Will Rice junior, said. "With this money comes great responsibility, and [RPC] is up for the challenge."

RPC also plans to host a Willy Week concert in the spring with the money from the Pavilion Fund, Kerkstra said.

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