Esperanza tickets sell out again

By Isabella Bender Zevallos     11/5/14 6:43am

Due to demonstrated student demand for more tickets, Rice Program Council decided to rent the second floor of the Museum of Natural Science, thus providing 425 more tickets for Esperanza. 

RPC President Aisha Jeeva stated that while RPC had always considered renting this extra space, they did not want to book it without knowing the demand for tickets and then losing money due to an overestimation. 

The opening of the second floor has enabled RPC to add new elements to the homecoming dance. 

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“There will be a photo station with props and a karaoke set-up on the second floor,” RPC Socials Committee Co-chairs Jodie Nghiem and Audrey Smith said. “While we have had similar photo areas at past Esperanzas, we have never had karaoke. However, we believe that the main attractions of the second floor will be the five additional exhibits that attendees will be able to explore, including the Hall of Gems and Minerals, the Hall of African Wildlife and more.”

Given the additional space, RPC had to re-adjust the budget to cater to additional costs. Nghiem and Smith said costs were mostly incremental and were easy to calculate on a per-person basis, such as food and drinks, which amount to about $9 per person. 

Jeeva explained that other flat fees costs were also easily predictable, such as the additional $2,000 needed to rent the second flood.

“Additionally, the cash bars were both incremental and step function cost increases,” said Jeeva. “The cost of alcoholic drinks are a combination of a flat fee per bar which increases on a per-person basis, only taking into consideration attendees over 21 … Ultimately, we were able to get the venue cost, HPD, RUPD, EMS, food, cash bars, non-alcoholic beverages, activities for the second floor, tables, chairs, table linens and decorations covered for about the $8,500 we made on ticket sales.” 

Thus, Nghiem and Smith said RPC did not need to increase its blanket tax contribution to the formal. 

The RPC Socials added that extra tickets had to be limited to 425 not only because the caterers could only prepare food for the current amount of guests, 1,800, but also due to the fact that the Museum imposed a limit of 1,000 guests on the dance floor at any given time and because the caterers could only prepare food for the current amount of guests, 1,800.  

“If it starts to exceed that capacity, the HPD officers present to keep an eye on the fossils according to our contract will start to remove people,” Jeeva said. “We didn’t think it would be fair to sell 2,000 tickets when only [a half] of the attendees could be on the dance floor at one time.” 

Nghiem and Smith said ticket sales have been going well, as an increasing number of students have been taken off the waitlist in several rounds.

Initially, there were over 1,000 students on the waitlist, and now there are less than 600 remaining.

However, RPC  remains confident they will allow the majority of students to buy tickets. 

Jeeva admits there were many issues previously  surrounding the sale of tickets, but hopes that students will acknowledge the work that RPC has dedicated in making this event happen. 

“We know it was a frustrating time for students,” Jeeva said. “We really appreciated the people who were patient and understanding while we were trying to work through the issues and find reasonable solutions, and hope that students will keep in mind that the people they are so harshly criticizing are their peers who have put significant time and effort into making this event as successful as possible.”

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