Eighty-four students respond to homecoming survey
(-- The Beacon)
By Sarah Hansell Staff Writer hansell14@up.edu
Most students would have preferred a dance over a carnival for the homecoming event, according to the homecoming survey conducted by Campus Program Board (CPB).
This year, instead of a homecoming dance, CPB put on a carnival for the homecoming event on Oct. 7, which 417 students attended.
CPB held an online survey to gather student feedback on the homecoming event, and 84 students responded.
About 70 percent of the respondents attended the carnival.
"For the situation we had been put in … I think CPB made a good decision to hold the carnival since Pilotpalooza is not happening this spring since the (concert) will be happening," CPB Director and junior Sean Ducey said.
Half of the respondents said they would attend a carnival in the future.
"I was sort of expecting it to be half and half because the event was so new," CPB Assessment Chair and junior Justine Roades said during a Nov. 17 CPB meeting.
However, many students wished there had been a dance for homecoming instead.
"Looking at the results, people did enjoy the homecoming event, the carnival, but many more students would've rather had a dance," Ducey said.
The rides at the carnival exceeded some students' expectations, while others thought there was little variety and the rides were not age appropriate.
"I would've tried to find more age-specific activities," Ducey said.
Of the students who attended, five percent bought food.
Most respondents said they did not buy food because it was too expensive, there was no vegetarian option or they forgot to purchase it ahead of time.
While some of the respondents to the survey thought the location of the carnival was convenient, others said they had class during the carnival.
"I liked it outside, and it was good that it was on campus," freshman Paige Reynolds said.
Next year's CPB officers will decide whether there will be a homecoming dance next year.
"It's a homecoming dance," freshman Andrew Stacey said. "That's what a homecoming is, not a homecoming carnival."
