By Abby Black
Events around campus are more popular than ever before, prime examples being River Run and Phantom of the Opera, both of which sold out.
Those who remember the packed boat teeming with bodies or students camping outside St. Mary's at 3:45 a.m. might wonder why this year Campus Program Board events are particularly popular.
"The boat was totally full," said junior Katie Greisen, one of the publicity personnel with CPB.
"They are definitely more attended than last year," said junior Tarra McCurdy, director of CPB.
McCurdy has been working with the CPB since her freshman year when she found out about the program through the activities fair.
She started with ?volunteering putting up posters. ?Sophomore year she became the publicity and film chair to benefit her communication major.
"I guess I revolutionized advertising for the films with Facebook," McCurdy said.
The Facebook group McCurdy created allows the program to advertise the events happening on campus in a way that would be more appealing to the college students that are known for cruising online.
Other reasons popularity is increasing is because of the advertising efforts ?from the publicity chairs and volunteers from the CPB who put up posters all over campus.
"My goal is to have previews of the movies of things like event dates for Portland and random facts," said senior Kaitlynn Damron, the new CPB movie, speaker and comedian coordinator. Damron is also focused on bringing student voices into what happens on campus via surveys on Facebook.
Most events on campus have been popular enough to inspire the CPB staff to new heights. River Run, for example, sold out all their tickets within two days and the movies held in the Buckley Center auditorium have had record attendance in the past couple years.
"There have been some problems with the movies but there is a good crowd," said junior Katherine Miller, the other publicity chair.
Miller and Greisen were introduced to CPB though the Activities Fair and have been involved since they were sophomores.
The event that has been causing the most excitement for the board is Homecoming, which is themed "Hollywood Glamour" this year.
A new feature for Homecoming is a limo ride that students could enter in a drawing when they purchased their ?tickets to the dance.
Students were also given the opportunity to receive free tickets by attending the alcohol speaker event ?that took place Monday in the Chiles Center.
CPB has high hopes for the type of events they can bring to campus. They hope to equal the status of the Good ?Charlotte concert on campus a few years ago.
"We have talked about bringing Cake or Taylor Swift here," Miller said.
This type of event would be something that would not be able to take place for at least a year considering the amount of planning that has to go on in order for it to take place.
Most positions on CPB are volunteer but the experience is invaluable, Miller said.
"You get a voice in what to bring to campus and you really do get heard," Miller said. "The meetings are only 30 to 40 minutes long and there are snacks!" commenting on her CPB involvement.
"CPB is worth every single step of the way," said Damron, who has been volunteering with CPB since her freshman year.
