Spring Break
Escape off to slow start
The main source of funding comes from student fees
Ceressa Crawford
Barometer Staff Writer
Escape co-manager Mike Howard wasn't surprised by the low turnout, he said.
"Thursdays are usually our slowest night," said Howard, a junior in business, adding that this was due to students going to bars.
David Voss, a sophomore in mathematics, went to the club Thursday night with a group from Sackett Hall. "We got there at about 11 p.m. and there was nobody else there."
Voss' group was there for at least an hour and saw only three guys come and go in the hour he was there.
"They left as soon as they got there," he said.
Voss went because he was confident that there wouldn't be many people there.
"It would be easier for me to make a fool out of myself," he said.
Campus surveys indicated that students have few alternatives for social events on campus.
"Students expressed that they wanted something to do on campus, and that's why it was put together," said Jason Gerard, co-manager of Escape and a senior in mechanical engineering.
Escape was invented by seven different committees that looked at what students would want in a night club.
"We're hoping to make this club a popular hang out," Howard said. He also said that they are trying to set up a few pool tables in the club.
Howard and Gerard believe that the reason the turnout is small is because people don't know where the building is.
Howard said he and his staff plan to put arrows on the ground around campus this week directing students to the club.
Escape opened Oct. 3, the first Thursday after classes began for fall term. It is open from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. from Thursday through Saturday every week.
Escape receives funding from grants and scholarships, but Howard said that the main source of funding comes from student fees.
The club, located directly behind Snell Hall, has a maximum capacity of 319 bodies. They serve food and beverages, and play a variety of dance music in the student-designed interior.
Thursday and Friday nights have themes planned by the Escape staff. This Thursday is "'80s Night," and "Beach Night" will follow on Friday.
There are a few live bands playing every Saturday night. This weekend, Sound Scape, Tricky Dick and Clutter will play.
Gerard said Saturdays tend to be the most popular night because the bands attract a broader age range.
"We're expecting a much better turnout for the upcoming winter term," Howard said, because freshmen will spend more of their weekends in Corvallis rather than heading home.
The entrance fee is $3 for students, faculty and staff, and $5 for guests.
Ceressa Crawford covers news for The Daily Barometer. She can be reached at baro.news@studentmedia.orst.edu.
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