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Putting On A University Rave
By Arnold Baker
This article is brought to you courtesy of Hyperreal.com
I set up raves at Duke University, North Carolina. We have held two
events so far, and plan putting on at least four more. They are rather small
events (500-600 people) but have been enjoyable. Here are the key
aspects of putting on a university rave:
(1) Friends to Help
The most essential aspect of putting on a rave is having friends to help you.
You need people to monitor the doors, put up flyers, design the flyer,
spread the word, make the smart drinks, clean up after the event;
you need friends with cars to move things; you need friends for support,
ideas and encouragement.
In my experience, some will help out for free, others will need the
incentive of pay. Whatever way, you need a small army of people to
put on an event. The best way to garner this support in my opinion is to
make the event non-profit (or minisculely profitable).
(2) Advertising
Start advertising even before you've planned the event. Let people you know
you're putting on an event. Tell everyone and anyone. Friends bring
friends. Its the best form of advertising. Word-of-mouth takes
a long time to spread so start early. It was a real buzz meeting people for
the first time who'd say: "Oh...you're the one putting on the rave." It got me
pumped up to put on the best event I could.
For the advertisement we tried to be as creative as possible. We ordered
3D-hologram stickers from Fantasma, Il. and got an artist friend to design
the flyer. Advertising only cost about $200, but it was the creativity caught
people's attention. We advertised for about a week before the event, but
that was because it was on-campus, so not much more time was needed.
Advertising will get people's curiousity sparked, but to keep them coming
back you've gotta provide a good event. Make the first event awesome, and
don't false advertise (though this is often impossible due to
circumstances beyond your control).
(3) Money
Where do you get the money from? I would advise putting in as little of your
private funds as possilbe: a rave can flop very easily so there is no
guarantee you'll get your money back.
My experience has probably been different to others. College campus's (at least Duke's) have slush funds of money
to tap into for funding alternative events. But you need to know what the
people controlling the funds are looking for. The great thing about raves is
that they have something in them for everyone. Looking for an alternative to
alcohol, raves are the answer. Or if you want to foster cultural
diversity and integration; raves are the way the go. From tolerance of
alternative lifestyles to promoting drug awareness, raves encompass a wide
range of noble goals. Raves are in every way in line with what an
administrator an organization wants to foster in a university. This simple
fact has helped me enormously in garnering funds for raves.
For my first rave, the funders were looking for an alternative to the
fraternity keg scene. They wanted something without alcohol as its central
focus; and a more friendly and safe environment for women. We received
several hundred dollars from the Women's Coalition; a few hundred from
Men Acting for Change, a group of men who discuss and promote
awareness of sensitive issues like rape, anorexia, and pornography - problems
which are normally relegated as "women's issues", but are really of concern to
men as well; and several hundred dollars from the Duke University Union, a huge
campus organization that funds alternative events. They funded the rave
because they believed it would help promote the ideals they believe in,
and also because they received publicity for their organization on our flyers,
in the form of "Sponsored by Women's Coalition...". Many of the
people in these organizations also felt an obligation to show up at the
event, which was a double bonus.
The rest of my raves are being funded by the biggest slush fund at the
university: the Student Affairs Office. After a 10 minute meeting with
the Dean of Student Affairs, I had secured several thousands dollars for
raves. It was that easy! (at least at Duke). I simply pointed out the common
goals. Student Affairs is very much anti-alcohol, anti-fraternity,
pro-diversity, pro-women.....everything a rave is...so the Dean very soon
became pro-rave. The only sticky point was drugs. Here I must admit I
sacrificed all my values about what I believe about drugs.
A University cannot be seen to promote a drug-related event. I spoke
against drugs, but noted that even Duke's best efforts has not stopped its
students from taking drugs, so it was impossible for me, as a mere student,
to ensure no drug-taking.
My suggestion to others is this: every campus organization gets funding
from somewhere (often from many sources)...find those sources, find
their ideals, and if the rave's ideals are in sync with their ideals you should
point out the benefits they get from sponsoring the rave. Money should no
longer be a problem. A rave shouldn't cost more than about $1500...$2000
tops. You can put a good one on in NC for $1200. We charged $2 at the door.
We could have charged nothing, but I think it actually helps the rave to
charge a little. $2 is not enough to be a price deterrant; but its enough
to ensure that if someone comes to the rave, they aren't going to just
walk in and then walk out. It keeps people there for the event. And
it makes the event actually more respectable. And I used the money
to pay back my funders, thus making it likely they would fund
the events again.
(4) Lights and Sound
In NC, the light and sound equipment for me was $800. For this we
got a laser, 4 trackspots, a gyro, a bunch of spotlights, plenty of
watts of sound, a turntable, fog machine, video projector and screen, ufo's...
and a whole bunch of other stuff. In my experience there are alot of con
artists out there who either don't bring all the equipment they promise, or
just plain lie about their equipment. To find light and sound people call
a lighting/sound company in town, and ask for mobile djs/production companies.
Or if you see a good set-up at a rave ask the lighting engineer.
You have to be a tough business person with these light/sound people - they
know exactly what you want to hear.
Remember this: its easy to
bargain them down, especially if you tell them you have a small budget
(which you do), and if there is promise of future, steady employment at your
future raves.
The hard part is to make sure what they promise you is what you
get on the night. Ask to see a video of their show: most will have them.
And promise to pay before the show, but only after they've set up. And
firmly tell them that if they don't bring all they've promised, they will
not get the full pay you promised them..
(5) Insurance
Many promoters don't bother with insurance when putting on an event. If you
are willing to take the risk (and it is a small one) don't bother with
insurance. Chances are nothing disastrous will happen.
However, if you are concerned, I'll outline here the aspects of a rave that
the promoter/organizer is responsible for.
Firstly there is
damage liability: damage to the building, if a window is broken, or the
place burns down, etc. All this must be covered by you. If you can catch
the perpetrator of the damage that person is responsible for reimbursing the
owner. Also, You are not responsible for the damage to light/sound equipment.
Secondly, there is personal liability. If someone goes to your rave drunk,
then slips and falls and breaks their arm, you as organizer can be sued for
it. If someone gets hurt at the rave because of the actions of another, you
can be sued for it. In America, people can and will sue for anything, no
matter how responsible you are for it. Whether they will win the suit
is another matter; but I for one am not willing to carry the costs
of a law suit.
To avoid these liabilities you should be covered by some sort of insurance.
That is the reason why I prefer to keep my raves on campus. At Duke,
damage liability is covered by the university for everything above
$100; for personal liability the university protects its students. That is,
as long as the event is in some way affiliated with a recognized student
organization you are safe. Also, with regards to damage liability, on hiring
most buildings the owner will force you to take out damage insurance (but
not personal liability insurance). If you are worried about insurance risk,
you should ask your university what its policy is with regards to these issues.
But I stress the likelihood of distrastrous consequences is very small.
(6) DJs
Once I spread the word that I was putting on a rave, DJs were easy to find.
And in my experience there are more DJs willing to play than time
available. I found my DJs from Duke and from the net and both DJs have
been excellent. There are plenty of people out there who spin just for fun,
and some even offer to spin for free. I try to pay something if at all
possible. Most DJs I've met don't use the money to buy a new porsche: they buy
more records. And that's better for the whole scene.
(6) The Location
Just use your imagination: any place can be good for a rave. Its what
you do with it that counts. Just make sure its big enough to hold
the expected number of people.
- I try to get a location which is far enough away from apartments that
it won't bother early sleepers.
- If you are going to use a fog machine, make sure you can get the
fire alarm turned off.
- Also, it is helpful to have a good ventilation system; it gets very hot
inside the building without one.
- And, at the end of the rave, clean-up the place. It helps to stay on side of
those whose building you might wish to use again.
(7) Problems
These are some of the persistent problems I've had with the raves:
- Noise Policy
At our school we are only allowed to stay open until
2am. Though I've had recent encouragement that this might be extended, the
case at a number of schools I've seen is that parties close down way earlier
than desired. I'm trying to put on after-parties to compensate for this, but
the first one fell through, and besides, an after-party ain't anything like a
rave. Worst of all, you realize that all your time and effort is being
wasted to a certain extent when your rave lasts for such a short period.
This has deterred me somewhat from putting on better events each time.
- Time & Effort
This leads me to the second problem. It takes alot of personal dedication
and effort to organize people, to deal with the many problems, to gather
support, etc. This is extremely trying on one's soul, especially when
I'm doing these things not for profita, but for the love of the rave (or
maybe just the desperation for something other than fraternity kegs).
Furthermore, its alot to harder to keep your friend's support and dedication
to the event. You cannot put on a rave without the help of friends.
- Drugs/Alcohol
I try to avoid correlating drugs with rave. It is especially important to
avoid this "image" because, at least my raves are
nurtured in some way by the university. It obviously will not continue to
support the event if it is drug-related. On the "reality" side, I try to
discourage dealers from being at the rave. But drug usage per se, before the
event, is not a problem; if anything the people on drugs add to the carefree
atmosphere.
I try to avoid alcohol as well. In my experience, it is not a problem
to let semi-drunk people into the rave. They have not caused a problem yet.
The only instance was of one girl who drank too much before the event, then
danced too much - she had to be taken to the infirmary. So in my opinion
people on alcohol are not really a problem. That is, unless you decide to
sell alcohol at the rave. This promotes abuse of the substance, and violence
might well ensue. Basically, I accept the reality that I cannot and should
not control what people do with their bodies before the event; but I can
try to ensure that excessive usage of any drug does not occur but not
providing any drugs/alcoholic beverages at the rave..
Drugs/Alcohol at non-university raves are a completely different issue, and
an issue which I have little knowledge about from an organizer's standpoint.
I would say however that by having drugs/alcohol at a rave, you can
be held responsible if you don't take adequate measures to try to prevent it.
It is gives the cops an excuse to close you down (if they even need one).
(8) Security
Duke requires that "pubilc safety officers" be present at all university
functions. This is not such a drag as it first may seem. The Public Safety
Officers at Duke aren't interested in busting people for drinking or dosing.
They just want to keep the event safe and non-violent. Their presence is
enough to keep people from going wild, which is a good thing. They also
protect the rave from the outside environment. I'm sure that most of you
have heard of the rave where the door monitor was shot by someone when he was
refused entrance into the rave. Having a public safety officer at the front
door deters any unwanted guests. Security shouldn't be a constraint on
your rave if you have pretty cool security officers.
(9) The Vibe
This is the hardest part of putting on the rave. The vibe is the atmosphere
of the rave. A friendly, happy, creative vibe is key. My personal definition
is this: a rave that rocks is both immersive and interactive. It must
be immersive in that the experience is outer worldly, transcending, and
utterly absorbing. This means people should be dancing.
A rave should be interactive in that it is conducive to meeting others,
in that the atmosphere is one of tolerance. There should be interactive
toys to facilitate this (like a moon-bounce, or bubble blowers) and
a quieter area to chill-out and communicate.
In my experience it is very difficult to achieve immersion and interactivity
in a rave. But trying to create immersion and interactivity provides the
most innovative and challenging part of putting on a rave. Creativity is
absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, it is also the area which is usually
least attended to. I think that this is the area which a small rave has a much
greater advantage than some of the more commercial raves. Many commercial
raves can assemble equipment and DJs into one environment, but they
completely ignore the vibe. If a good vibe occurs, it is more by luck
than their conscious planning.
Well, I hope this has been of help to my fellow raves. On feedback, while
I'm willing to discuss any aspect of this email, I am personally more
interested in comments on section (9) The Vibe. I am seeking to improve
the immersion and interactivity characteristics of my raves, and I would
appreciate any ideas on how to do this.
Until then...
Arnold
ab2@acpub.duke.edu
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