10 unbc lifestyles January 18, 2011 - Over the Edge NUGSS EVENT SURVEY We asked and you answered! JARROD WEISNER LIFESTYLE EDITOR ast semester NUGSS circulat- ed an events survey to find out what YOU thought about the events that we host. We ended up get- ting a total of 154 responses and some fantastic results. NUGSS attempted to collect feedback that was representa- tive of the entire student population by distributing surveys in various centers across the university. For ex- ample, surveys were distributed in PGPIRG, the Pride Centre, the First Nations Centre, the Wellness Centre, and many more. In addition, NUGSS also had a table in the wintergarden for a few days where students could fill the survey out. If you are now realizing that you never got to fill out an events survey and you have lots of opinions on NUGSS events- do not worry! We are always open to any comments, criticism or suggestions that you might have. You can reach us at nugss-social@unbc.ca, nugss- events@unbc.ca, or nugss-planning@ unbe.ca . In analyzing the results of the events survey, some very apparent themes were found. For example, we found that many students would like to see events that are less focused on drinking. This was due to students either being underage or just not be- ing interested in drinking. In hearing this, NUGSS hopes to increase the number of events that are available to students of all ages as well as in- creasing the number of events that are more laid back and not focused on drinking. Similar to this theme was the finding that students would like to see more events that are educational- ly or culturally focused. Specifically, many students would be interested in seeing NUGSS host educational sem- inars. Some other suggestions for new events that NUGSS could host were sports events, concerts featuring local music, a charity fashion show, out- door events (such as a survivor week- end) and, of course, anything free. In analyzing the events survey results it became quite obvious to us that students LOVE free events! It therefore made perfect sense that the Backyard BBQ and Final Affair were the two NUGSS events that stu- dents loved the most. Students loved 66 ...just not inter- ested in drinking.v dd how these events span a large portion of the day, are available to students of all ages, and, of course, are free. NUGSS is then interested in making these events as fantastic as possible and we are always looking for sug- gestions as to how to do this. For ex- ample, do you know of an awesome band that we could look into getting for our annual Backyard BBQ? If so, please let us know! Also, NUGSS is hosting our 3rd Annual Winterfest on January 26th. This event, much like the Backyard BBQ and Final Affair, is free, spans all day, and students of all ages can attend. Make sure you check it out! NUGSS also wanted to know when the majority of students prefer events to be held. Overall, NUGSS has been capitalizing on the best days and times for events, as determined by student responses, and will continue to host events on Friday during the evening. It was also recognized, how- ever, that students often have to work on Friday evenings and therefore can- not attend almost all of the NUGSS events. To mitigate this, NUGSS hopes to incorporate more variety into when we host events (more Saturday and weekday events) to accommodate even more students. Currently NUGSS uses a wide var- iety of strategies to spread the word about our events. However, in circu- lating our events survey, a brand new method of advertising was suggested to us - an email newsletter about up- coming events! This email newsletter would be sent out on a monthly basis to students who sign up to be on the email list. Clubs could also be given the opportunity to include their events in this newsletter as well. NUGSS hopes to implement this new adver- tising strategy by next September at the latest. Other suggestions made for ways that NUGSS could adver- tise included having ads on the CFUR radio station and NUGSS hosting a MySpace page. Even though the event survey has come to a close, NUGSS always en- courages student feedback so please feel free to contact us in the future. Best of luck with the rest of the se- mester! What’s Happening at UNBC Quick — Winter Semester — Go! JARROD WEISNER LIFESTYLE EDITOR Residence Challenges - FOOD OLYMPICS Residence challenges, between the eight different floors and the two different buildings at UNBC, are heating up as the temperature outside drops down. Winter semester will see their first residence challenge on Saturday, January 14, with teams of five people competing in a seven-event eating challenge. Unlike last year’s food competition, this year’s challenge will eliminate some of the less readily-edible items on the menu, such as catfood. Quoting Katie Sven on the Facebook event page, “It will be less focused on eating vast quantities of food, and more focused on short tasks (for example, finding a gummy worm in a bowl of pudding).” Second floor in Neyoh is currently leading the standings in the residence challenges, however because of the later publication of this issue of Over the Edge, the frontrunner may be overtaken at this time. Please see unbcresidencechallenges.tumblr.com for updated pictures of the 2012 academic year, as well as current standings for each floor and building. Casino Night - HAVE AN IDEA FOR A THEME? Residence Council is currently working on another Casino Night this year, following the success of last year’s “The Hangover” themed event. Casino Night will welcome all ages as the event is dry, and students will not be gambling with money, but instead chips that reward prizes during this fun filled, high-rolling evening. As this event is still being prepared, ideas for themes are still being taken into consideration, and anyone with input should contact student council president Kealy Mac or social committee manager Caitlin Croft through the housing office. Winter Semi-Formal — SAVE THE DATE UNBC’s annual semi-formal dance is occurring on March 9-10 of this year, and social committee manager Caitlin Croft (see: busy economics major with a disdain for stats class) is looking for volunteers in the UNBC student population to help organize the event. If you are interested in assisting with this year’s shindig, please contact the housing office for more details, or send an e-mail to Caitlin herself at croft@unbc.ca. Thank you! UNBC BUS LOOP (e5 YU SO FARAWAY WHEN | NEED FOOD?? memegencrator.net OAKjOUGW