Wednesdays in the Tavern feature more than just greasy burgers and cheesesteaks. Instead, Jaclyn Pulice, a senior in the School of Communication, fills the space with fun activities, her personal enthusiasm and, at times, free food.
Eagle Nights is a way to increase school spirit on campus, according to Pulice, who is in her second year as director of Eagle Nights. She said many students complain that AU lacks school spirit, and she says the various programs Eagle Nights sponsors are a way to combat this.
Pulice's goal for the year was to "establish traditional events on campus for students to look forward to every year," she said.
Welcome Week karaoke and the drag show were events Pulice planned and executed for the past two years, events she said will hopefully become annual activities. She said Eagle Nights will sponsor a student performance show in the Woods-Brown Amphitheater this spring, which was well-attended when it was held last semester.
In addition to the larger, annual events, Pulice said she has helped organize smaller events in conjunction with smaller clubs and organizations to give them the opportunity to fund events.
Eagle Nights has been active in co-sponsoring events, working with the Residence Hall Association, Sigma Chi Fraternity, Queers and Allies, ATV, Artemas Ward Week and the Latino American Student Organization this semester, Pulice said. With Eagle Nights' $5,400 budget, they are able to help smaller organizations fund events they could not afford to host on their own.
Co-sponsoring helps Eagle Nights attract a greater audience, Pulice said.
"If people have their own invested opinion in an organization, they're going to come out," she said. "It's a good opportunity to show school spirit and unity."
National and campus initiatives and student schedules drive the types of programs Eagle Nights plans, Pulice said.
"We work around larger campus initiatives," she said, pointing to the drag show that was planned in October, which is National Coming Out Month.
Grenye O'Malley, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, came to the Halloween Costume Contest Eagle Nights sponsored last night. As a member of Eco-Sense, the competition allowed her to get the word out about different environmental policies the club is trying to pursue, she said.
Pulice said students' schedules also affect planning because they plan fewer large and active events during midterms and finals when students do not have the time to attend events. Instead, Eagle Nights has less formal events, such as handing out free empanadas during a Hispanic Heritage Month event they sponsored with LASO, which fell around the time students were studying for midterms.
"We have bigger and more active events when they're not as stressed," she said.
Facebook, bulletin boards, Daily Jolt postings and Today @ AU postings have all served as forms of publicity for the events, Pulice said. She also uses an easel board in Mary Graydon Center to advertise the events to people who may not have planned to attend previously.
Students said they have enjoyed the Eagle Nights events they attended. Rose Davis, a sophomore in CAS, said she attended the Boardwalk event Eagle Nights co-sponsored with the Class of 2009.
"They had Skee-Ball, cotton candy and popcorn," she said. "It was awesome"
