W.C. Lawson |
After this year’s last final on May 1, students, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to celebrate together.
“Anchors Aweigh” will be an end of the year event hosted by the University on the last day of finals from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on The Bluff. There will be bands on stage (TBA), a beer garden and Bon Appetit will provide all-you-can eat barbeque food.
ASUP used $4,000 from its Major Project Fund and CPB used $2,000 of their funds to support the event. A few weeks ago ASUP conducted a survey where students could submit potential names for the event, and “Anchors Aweigh” was the winner.
“We are currently looking for bands to play,” CPB Director senior Evan Castro said. “But the main focus of this isn’t a concert, it’s all about community.”
On-campus students can use their meal points for food and off-campus students are encouraged to purchase pre-ticket orders to the event, which includes food. All students over 21 must show ID to purchase beverages from the beer garden and will be issued a three-beer limit wristband.
This end of the year party is not a new concept at the University. In fact, it used to be an old tradition.
The University hosted this event for the first time in 1989 with the title “Blowout on the Bluff.” This tradition extended all of the way through into the 2000s. After 2008, the tradition ended due to low attendance.
Now, with the help of Assistant Director of Media Relations Joe Kuffner and professor Craig Swinyard, the University has decided to bring back the event. Both UP alumni, Kuffner (‘05) and Swinyard (‘98) attended the event during its heyday and regard it as one of the major highlights of their college experience.
“All four student classes, faculty and staff were there. Everybody at UP went,” Swinyard said. “It provided a great closure for the year.”
Kuffner says he and Swinyard have been silently advocating for this event for a few years now.
“We are starting this tradition again. It’s 2014 now, and we are figuring out what works,” Kuffner said. “In the past we had different regulations and it seems the emphasis of the event shifted over the years. Now we want to find a healthy medium for managing this.”
