Saturday night's Dooley's Ball, featuring electronic dance music DJ 3LAU, signaled the end of this year's Dooley's Week, hosted annually by the Student Programming Council (SPC). This year's theme was "Dooley as the Romans Do" and culminated in an attempt at Dooley's Ball to break the Guinness World Record for hosting the largest toga party.
The week began on Monday with Taste of Emory, a showcase of restaurants from the local community. It was followed by a performance called "Dooling Pianos" on Tuesday, Wonderful Wednesday and a performance by comedian Hannibal Buress on Thursday. Friday night's Spring Band Party featured the critically-acclaimed rapper Kendrick Lamar.
We at the Wheel enjoyed this year's theme – and were, to say the least, impressed with SPC's witty wordplay. Although Kendrick Lamar's performance garnered much attention on campus and in general most students knew about the week's events, we feel that last year's tactic of flashing signs around campus was a more effective advertising strategy. We feel SPC also deserves recognition for making the first three events of the week "zero waste," meaning that all items were either recyclable or compostable.
Furthermore, we were pleased by the decision to relocate Taste of Emory to McDonough Field rather than hold it on Asbury Circle this year. McDonough is a more accessible location than Asbury Circle, which allowed students to mingle and socialize while enjoying the delectable food. Tuesday's "Dooling Pianos" performance was entertaining and boasted a very high turnout. Wonderful Wednesday was charmingly goofy in a way that only Emory can be. The dance-off between The Spoke's Dooley and the "real" Dooley was an amusing twist on Emory tradition, and the foam gladiator pit offered those in attendance the chance for some less-than-traditional Roman combat.
This year's Dooley's Week T-shirts contained slips of paper with messages reminding students to drink safely at the concerts on Friday and Saturday. This was part of an advertising campaign in collaboration with the Office of Health Promotion to encourage more responsible partying following the medical emergencies at last year's Dooley's Ball. We support SPC's effort to encourage responsible drinking and feel that the campaign was very tactfully presented. The point of this campaign was driven home at Spring Band Party and Dooley's Ball, which, for the first time, did not feature kegs of free beer. The ultimate conclusion was a much safer weekend of concerts with a minimum of emergencies. We congratulate SPC on its successful campaign.
We recommend that SPC find another venue for future comedians than Glenn Memorial. In the past, some might have felt uncomfortable hosting comedians – who frequently make jokes about religion – in a church, and the issue came to a head this year when Buress threw a Bible on the ground as part of his routine. This offended some members of the audience and even Buress expressed confusion about performing at that location. In fact, he began his performance with the line, "I know y'all got other buildings." Although Glenn Memorial has ample seating, we feel that a church is an inappropriate venue for a comedian to perform.
We were, on the whole, impressed by this year's Spring Band Party and Dooley's Ball. SPC did a great job bringing big names such as Kendrick Lamar and 3Lau to campus, and we hope this trend continues. Nothing draws a crowd quite like a popular headliner, and Spring Band Party and Dooley's Ball were no exception. Both musicians put on fantastic performances and although there were a multitude of non-Emory students in the crowd, the turnout was exceptional. While the guest policy was well-publicized and well-enforced this year, we are otherwise disappointed by the concerts' security. Emory ID's were not thoroughly checked, and it would not have been difficult for somebody who does not attend Emory to successfully present a different form of identification.
We also recommend that SPC provide more bathroom facilities in the future. Four toilets was simply not enough to accommodate crowds as large as Friday and Saturday's. The line for the bathroom was unruly. As far as other accommodations go, food and water ran out quickly. We suggest that SPC endeavor to at least provide more water next year.
Ultimately, no event as substantial as Dooley's Week can run entirely without issue, and of course these problems cannot detract from this year's overall success. We congratulate SPC on another excellent Dooley's Week and wish the members of the SPC continued success in planning for next year.
The above staff editorial represents the majority opinion of the Wheel's editorial board.
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