This year kicks off the launch of Cardinal After Dark, a grant program that has already co-sponsored two weekend events, Greek Splash and Bash at the ’Bein, as well as a campuswide donut run.
The program provided each of the three events with between $300 and $1,500.
Cardinal After Dark offers up to $2,500 to a student organization that wishes to sponsor a weekend event, and up to $5,000 to organizations that team up as co-sponsors. It encourages collaboration between student groups with different missions in order to bring in different “types” of students to their event, and for unregistered organizations to register and get involved.
The grant program has $20,000 available to fund events this year and an additional $5,000 to support student organizations. The money comes from
Otterbein’s general fund and is the full amount the founders of the program originally requested.
Stumpf said the Cardinal After Dark grant is intended both to encourage students to stay on campus during weekends and to get student organizations involved in the planning of these activities.
Greek Splash was co-sponsored with Kappa Phi Omega and Sigma Delta Phi (Sphinx).
According to Veronica Mathias, the Kappa coordinator of Greek Splash, the Kappa/Sphinx event was a success. With the grant money, they were able to rent an inflatable water slide, a Slip’N Slide, squirt guns and a dunk tank. Mathias said the turnout was really good.
“I definitely think we accomplished getting our name out,” she said.
Junior education major Molly Salser and sophomore theater major Kailee Morgan both said their favorite part of the Greek Splash was watching people get dunked.
Lloyd Box, a freshman actuarial science major, said, “I thought (Greek Splash) was fun, but I thought more people should have been there.”
Box said he saw 30 to 50 attendees at the event when he was there, but Mike Stumpf, the assistant director of the Center for Student Involvement, said 75 to 80 students attended the event. Box also said that most attendees appeared to be members of Kappa or Sphinx.
Bash at the ’Bein, which featured a portable laser tag arena, was co-sponsored with Sigma Delta Phi.
Joel Donahue, the Sigma Delta Phi recruitment chair and event organizer, said he hoped the event would be an opportunity to show students what Greek Life is like.
In an email following the event, he estimated that of the 200-plus attendees, about 75 to 80 percent were non-Greeks. Every campus sorority and most fraternities were represented.
“I think that students were able to see a little of what Greek Life at Otterbein is about through the fun experience,” Donahue said.
Both Greek Splash and laser tag were fully funded by the grant, though Kappa and Sphinx were responsible for advertising.
Jennifer Bechtold, the director of the Center for Student Involvement, said the amount of funding any particular event receives really depends on the event.
Because Greek Splash and Bash at the ’Bein were both co-sponsored by Cardinal After Dark, Kappa and Sphinx were not allowed to sell T-shirts with their Greek letters on them.
Bechtold said in an email that this rule is in place because the purpose of Cardinal After Dark is to provide evening and weekend activities for students, not to promote the organization directly. She said that Cardinal After Dark helped to fund wristbands that Sphinx distributed because they were not Sphinx wristbands.
In an email interview, Stumpf said, “We want students to come and enjoy themselves at campus events without feeling like they have to buy something.”
Bechtold said she hopes that having events run by students for students will encourage attendance.
“Things in the past didn’t appeal to students so much,” she said. “We want things they want to do.” She also said she hopes the program will promote student leadership.
The program is taking grant applications on a rolling basis. It is currently accepting proposals for events for fall semester and has received four applications for events so far. The more time to plan the event, the better, and at least three to four weeks notice for programs that require contracts is requested, such as with the inflatables provided at Greek Splash.
Bechtold sent out a campus-wide email last week with information about funding and a list of registered student organizations.
Individuals with ideas for programs are also invited to stop by the Center for Student Involvement, and Cardinal After Dark will connect those individuals to groups that might sponsor the program.
As of now, one more Cardinal After Dark event is scheduled, a Jared Monahue concert co-sponsored with the Otterbein chapter of the Music & Entertainment Industry Association.
