By Salmaan Farooqui
Residence: a word that comes with dreams of wild parties and incessant debauchery. Pitman Hall hasn’t quite lived up to that mantra that residence people live for, but the Ryerson Residence Council hoped to change that for a last hurrah.
President Sarah Keith headed the affair, hoping to “end the year with a bang” with the Res Year End party, which hoped to match frosh week’s short-lived partying-peak.
“We wanted to create a sort of laid back environment for students to come and dance and enjoy time with their friends,” Keith said, wanting to change up the annual end-of-year party from a formal event to more of an “all ages nightclub feel,” based on feedback from residence students.
The group landed a nearby location at The Gates, a surprisingly spacey basement location under the Starbucks at Church and Gerrard streets. From 10 p.m., a mass migration of students inadequately dressed for the cold weather took place down the street.
The organizers decked out the venue, turning it from a basement to a full out club with a DJ (DJ Anthem Kingz), a cash bar, a mega popular photo booth, and one thing that every res party amateur has been forgetting: some quality finger food. Because what’s a good party without spring rolls, right?
Reviews on the music in particular were mixed, but students generally appreciated the club atmosphere.
“It definitely felt like a decent club in there,” said Rameko Phillips, who ventured up from Hamilton to party with his friends from residence. “And it was definitely a lot better than the residence parties have been.
“The DJ was pretty good, he played a lot of different kinds of music, he played a Jamaican track, respect to him on that one.”
Many students interviewed echoed his opinion on the night, saying the night was at least a lot better than residence parties, which have been almost non-existent in the past few months.
Older students, like Skyler Stetler, a 20-year-old first-year student at Pitman, referred to it as an “intro to clubbing” for people who are still too young to club.
“It was for casuals people who are like ‘I can’t go to a club, but this is my chance to,’ so they jump at the chance,” Stetler stated. “For any school function, just like the ones in the Pitman cafeteria and in the one at the quad, it’s always doomed to be a bit cheesy, because people already have it in their minds that its going to be cheesy.” Despite any criticism, the club was what most clubs are: loud and fun when mixed with alcohol.
Keith was ecstatic with the event, which was a culmination of two months of planning and volunteer help from almost 30 people in the Ryerson Residence Council.
“It was fantastic, they (the council) really impressed me with their work,” Keith said. “And having The Gates walking distance from residence was great.
“Now that the event is done, we’re looking to recruit next year’s council,” she continued, noting that based on what students want next year, the event could be entirely different.”
With the residence term reaching it’s last month, the Ryerson Residence Council is shifting gears to find a new council that will be organizing the frosh week and residence events for next year.
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