SBOG relocates Remix to Academic Quad

The Scheider Board of Governors (SBOG) hosted Wellesley’s annual welcome-back party, dubbed Remix to Ignition, on Friday, Sept. 7. This year, the event featured both a new location and a new time frame, making the revamped celebration a source of discussion across campus.

While Remix is traditionally held in Tishman Commons, with overflow into the parking garage, this year the party was located in the Academic Quad. 

The location change, which received mixed reviews from Wellesley students, was largely due to recent changes in Massachusetts legislation.

“Due to some recent changes in crowd control laws in Massachusetts, we can no longer use Tishman for Remix,” explained Tijana Trkulja ’13, Director of On Campus Affairs (DOOCA). “ The Garage alone was still an option. However, in attempt to make this party nicer and safer, we decided to experiment a little with the location this year. SBOG thought that a dark, cold, poorly acoustic space, such as the garage, contributes a lot to the ‘vibe’ of the party.”

Other students echoed Trkulja’s concerns about the setting of Remix in past years.

“I like having the party in the Academic Quad a lot more than the garage,” Julia Ritsema ’14 said. “In the garage, the event felt very sketchy and made everything just that much weirder.” 

Katherine Di Lucido ’15 mentioned the advantages the location change presented for students living farther away from the Campus Center. 

“It was closer for people living on East Side, and it wasn’t as creepy as being in a fluorescently lit parking garage,” she said. 

However, students also expressed concerns about the new location of Remix. Comments about the academic quad ranged from complaints about poor entrance-labeling to criticisms of the sound system.

 “When having an open party in a space like that, you need a more substantial speaker setup,” Sarah Zemlock ’14 said. “A lot of the bass was lost to the outside, so it was often difficult to really hear and feel the music.”

Trkulja urged students with comments about Friday’s SBOG event to fill out surveys the organization has created.

“The academic quad was not our first choice for an outdoors location on campus but due to technical requirements, such as the power accessibility, it ended up being our only choice,” Trkulja explained. “We decided to give it a shot this year, and we are now asking students to give us feedback by filling out a survey that can be found on Remix Facebook event page and SBOG’s Facebook page.”  

Students can also share thoughts about the earlier time frame of Remix this year, which Trkulja explained was changed largely out of concern for off-campus guests. Guests have historically been stuck on Wellesley campus when parties begin later at 10 p.m. and do not end until 2 a.m. 

Students, however, expressed a desire to return to the later party time-frame. 

“I think the new time made it feel a little more like a high school dance,” Julia Ritsema ’14 said. “When we go out to Boston, we never arrive at a party until at least 10 p.m. and we only leave before 2 a.m. if the party is really bad.”

Apart from logistical changes, Remix also featured increased attention to student safety. 

Student representatives from the Wellativity Team —the Wellesley branch of the National College Health Improvement Project (NCHIP)—collaborated with SBOG members before the event, canvassing dorms during Remix in an effort to curb incidences of high-risk drinking during the party.

The group ran a pilot program at Dyke Ball last spring after Wellesley’s NCHIP branch noticed that hospital transfers for alcohol-related incidents increased during large-scale on-campus parties.

During the event on Friday, Wellativity provided snacks and water to students. The Wellativity Team also hired an ice cream truck to circulate through the residence halls in an effort to encourage students to eat and drink water throughout the night.