Dogtown After Hours to return this spring

What would you plan with $10,000?

This is what numerous posters sprawled across campus said. Well, come up with a good idea, and you could score $1,000 for your organization.

Due to the event’s popularity last year, Drake Student Senate and the Student Activities Board are teaming up again to bring the community the second annual Dogtown After Hours on April 13.

The competition, open to all recognized Drake student organizations, asks students to describe what an ideal late-night event would look like — including everything from entertainment and games to food and prizes — using less than $10,000.

“We’re looking for really original and creative ideas,” said SAB President Jessica Hamilton. “Something that’ll interest everyone.”

Organizations can pick up application packets in the Student Life Center or download it from either drakesab.com or drakesenate.com. Packets are due back to SLC by Jan. 27, where groups can also sign up for a time slot to present to the Dogtown Planning Committee on Feb. 3.

“(The committee) will consider many aspects, such as information from the proposal form and the presentation, while keeping in mind budget and organizations involved,” Hamilton said. “We want to involve as many organizations as possible in this event.”

The committee is made up of eight students from different aspects of campus — the three senate executive officers, one member from the Residence Hall Association, from the Panhellenic Council,  from the Interfraternity Council, and then the student coordinator from the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership.

The winning organization will be awarded $1,000, which can either be used at Dogtown After Hours or for a future Drake event of their own.

Last year’s winning proposal — the infamous record breaking pie fight — was dreamt up by members of Crawford Hall’s RHA and Executive Council, specifically first-year pharmacy student Laura Vollmer, sophomore Nicole O’Connor and senior Joshua Poindexter.

Vollmer came up with the idea while flipping through a Guinness Book of World Records from the previous year, and she was struck by how low the number of participants for the record was. She held onto the idea until the Dogtown opportunity became available, offering the funding and resources for a program of its caliber. With the help of the residents in Crawford Hall, the idea finally became a reality.

“How many people can say they’ve broken a world record?” Vollmer said. “The record was feasible enough for the Drake campus to compete with, and it provided a very memorable experience.”

The trio and its brigade of helpers were allotted two months to turn the two-page application into the real deal. It almost didn’t happen. While in the throes of preparing for the event, another organization took a stab at the record and nearly tripled the original number.

But in the end everything went as planned. Drake scrounged up 684 participants, barely squeaking by the previous record.

“Everything went better than planned,” Poindexter said. “I still can’t believe it all worked out.”

Despite a hectic experience last year, Vollmer already has a proposal underway for this year, albeit without her dream team from last year. Poindexter said he’s decided to take his final semester off from planning and cautions the faint of heart.

“It’s a lot of work, and you can’t overlook the small things,” Poindexter said. “It’s easy to see a $10,000 vision on a large scale, but you need to look literally moment by moment at an event to pull it off.”

Proposal form at a glance