The Grad Ball: a storm in a teacup?

This week, a motion was proposed by Matt Burton to move the Summer Graduate Ball from the Racecourse to campus. It was discussed with campus representatives, i.e. JCRCs, Union officers, who were generally quite positive. Then, as Henry James Foy puts it, "a few politically-charged firebrands got wind of the decision" and before you knew it, it was front-page in Vision.

So, an EGM was set for today as a chance for everyone to get their facts together before they vote on the motion. With so much having happened within a week, I ask myself, am I really that bothered by the Summer Graduate Ball being moved?

To that I answer, not really. Granted, I want it to be a good night out and that I get my money’s worth, but why should it matter whether it’s on campus or at the Racecourse? The venue only plays a small part of whether the evening turns out well. The small selection of York clubs proves that point. One week, you may have had a good night out in Ziggy's, but an average one in Tru. Next week it’s the opposite.

I believe it’s the people that make the event. Whether it’s your housemates, your course mates or society friends, they will no doubt make the night, for the better or worse. Who else is going to support your impromptu urge to climb to the top of the Barbican and profess your love for all humanity?

So why all the fuss about where the Ball is going to be held?

Some people don’t want it to change because they’ve always thought that their grad ball would be at the Racecourse, others want a change from the typical ‘Ball at the Racecourse’. From the countless comments on The Yorker and Nouse, it seems that for most people the issue seems to be their disbelief that Central Hall could ever look good or the mounds of duck poo they would have to avoid making their way across campus in their ball gowns.

Either way, it’s mostly (but not all) about aesthetics.

If you’ve been to one ball at the Racecourse, you know what the next one is going to be like. If you’ve been to Access All Areas, you’ve got a taste of a campus-wide event. Either way, they’re not great advertisements for the Summer Ball.

Both places have their advantages and disadvantages, their supporters and opposers. If you choose one, there are always going to be people who do not agree. If you don’t agree, and you decide not to go, you miss out.

Do you really want to miss out on the final Ball that you will attend as an undergraduate? Chances are no. So are we not arguing pointlessly about an event that you probably will end up going to anyway? Are there not other more important issues that affect us more than where the Summer Ball will take place?

So, where the aesthetic issues are concerned, haven’t we just made a mountain out of a mole hill?

If there is one thing that can sway the debate, and probably will, it is the welfare issue. With a campus-wide event, there are going to be colleges that are very noisy throughout the night. With many first year exams on the last two days of the academic year, it is neither wise nor acceptable to disturb ambitious first years.

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