Tag: SRW
Listomania
by The Cowl Editor on November 3, 2022
Features
Some Alternative Locations for SRW
- Twin River Casino
- McPhail’s
- The tents outside of Slavin
- Suites Lawn
- Ray Treacy Track
- Fennell Hall
- The Smith Center’s stage
- The Fennell tunnels
- The Dunk
- The fourth floor of Harkins
- The “deep quiet” section of the library
Reflections on Senior Ring Weekend: A Night for Our Wallets to Remember
by Sarah McLaughlin '23 on November 3, 2022
Editor-in-Chief
Campus
Over the past week and a half, many seniors have expressed rightful discontent at having paid $100 (more if one counts the price of dresses and tux rentals) for two nights in Peterson and some spinach dip. It feels a bit cheap of the college to ask this of us when many are, ironically, working to become financially independent upon graduation. Sending us to the casino in the spring is also not setting a great example, but at least we’ll probably be paying for a restaurant-quality dinner. I don’t regret going, though, despite how I had more fun hanging out with my friends in The Cowl office before and after the event and snacking on fries from Alum. Juxtaposed against the backdrop of blaring music, it helped me realize the importance of basking in the moments of in-between.
I’ve already written extensively on how the out-all-night attitude many college students adopt is not held by everyone, so I won’t digress. But I think even extroverted people can benefit from these seemingly banal minutes and hours we might often spend scrolling through bottomless social media feeds. Especially considering how we could barely hear each other shout on Friday and Saturday nights, I appreciated the time my friends took to catch up with each other in quiet conversation, especially the friends with whom I haven’t spoken in a while.
Sappiness aside, we all laughed the next day when we woke up to an email urging us to pay $20 to book our yearbook photo. Of course, the yearbook is not included in that price. PC will never tire of emptying our pockets. I haven’t even mentioned the rings themselves, the supposed purpose of the entire weekend. A sophomore asked me, when I explained what SRW means, if the rings were included in the ticket price as a gift. It hurt to crush their dreams.
I do think the students tasked with organizing the event did a great job, and many of the financial decisions were out of their control. Let’s not pin the blame where it’s not due. PC, I’m sure you’ve heard this from countless voices already, but we just think that at least there could have been dessert.
Was the weekend worth 10 hours of minimum-wage work? Probably not. But if there’s one thing our generation can do right, it’s immortalize the night in photograph and video form, so at least it’s a weekend we’ll never (be able to) forget. You know, maybe the video I now have of my roommate breaking into a dance circle to get down and do the worm in a full-length dress is priceless. On behalf of the senior class, I’d also like to send my compliments to whoever made the spinach dip.
Seniors Splurge on SRW: A Fiscal Focus on Priceless Memories
by The Cowl Editor on November 14, 2019
Campus
by Catherine Brewer ’20
News Staff
If you have ever heard of “puttin’ on the ritz,” the Class of 2020 took it to the next level at this year’s Senior Ring Weekend (SRW), held November 8-10, 2019. Boasting a 1920s Great Gastby theme—complete with a “Prohibition Punch” sangria—and three days of events, the highly-anticipated celebration marked an important milestone in the Providence College tradition.
Attendees danced the nights away, and money flowed just as fast as the champagne: with a budget of roughly $120,000 and tickets at $75 each, SRW remains one of the most expensive events of the year—and it is almost entirely organized by students.
“My initial guess would be $600,” said Monet Eugene ’20 on how much she likely spent on SRW. In addition to purchasing new dresses and shoes for both nights, she indulged in a variety of beauty treatments: hair extensions, acrylic nails, eyelash extensions, and two trips to the MAC store to have her makeup done professionally.
On the weekend alone, the final bill was around $652, not counting the class ring that Eugene had purchased months earlier for $500.
When asked if she would spend the same amount knowing the end dollar amount, Eugene explained that she would, adding that it was “completely worth it.”
For his attire on Friday, Dakorite Ojuka ’20 picked up two new pieces: a blazer for $225 and shoes for $100. While he already owned a tuxedo, he purchased a second pair of new shoes for Saturday. Drinks before and at both events added on just over $50. Not including his ticket or $250 class ring, Ojuka guessed he had spent around $350. In reality, this number was closer to $410, and Ojuka spent around $736 on the occasion as a whole. “I spent way more than I thought,” he realized.
Others invested more money in the night of the event itself. While Jackson Piantedosi ’20 already had a suit to wear on Friday night and spent only $50 to rent a tuxedo for Saturday, he spent $80 on drinks alone for him and his date over the course of two nights. Piantedosi’s initial estimate of his spending was $125, but his end total was closer to $190. “I honestly would’ve gone up to $200…I had a good time,” he explained.
While the cost of the on-campus events is covered primarily by a $40,000 budget allocation from Student Congress, the remaining $80,000 owed to the off-campus venue was funded by the approximately 1,100 tickets sold, according to Ella Sheehan ’20, Co-Chair of Formal Night on the SRW Core. As in previous years, each ticket granted access to Friday’s Special Events Night in Peterson Recreation Center, Saturday’s Formal Night at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, RI, and Sunday’s Ring Ceremony, also held in Peterson.
Sheehan also explained that even though Twin River has been used for Formal Night in the past, it was chosen again due to the limited number of event spaces that could accommodate the size of the senior class. “I think it went more smoothly than last year,” she added. While attendees largely expressed higher expectations for the food, the kitchen at Twin River was also better suited to satisfy a wider range of dietary restrictions than other venues.
After making a low estimate of spending $200 on the weekend, Michelle Fredericks ’20 wished she had spent less when she realized that she dropped closer to $370. She was able to borrow a dress from her sister for one night, but ended up spending $130 on a formal dress as the weekend grew closer. Fredericks also spent $80 on shoes, to which she made the same point as Eugene: “I’ll definitely wear them again!”
Living off campus, getting to and from the event was an important factor for Fredericks and her friends. When temperatures reached a low of 28 degrees on Friday night, Fredericks decided to chip in $3 for an Uber ride home from Peterson. On Saturday night, she was able to take the shuttle to Eaton Street from Twin River, which began running at 9:30 p.m.
Reflecting on the weekend, many felt that what they spent was worth it, regardless of whether they expected their final price tag or not. “I tend to want to get new things for events,”
Explained Fredericks, “I thought that borrowing a dress would cut costs down. I really didn’t need to buy new shoes for both nights.”
Ojuka felt that the cost of SRW may differ depending on what attendees choose to wear, making it more or less price prohibitive. “I had a specific style that I was going for, so I ended up spending more than I had to,” he explained. “I think the price of the ticket is expensive though, considering the first night is in Peterson.”
Some attendees who live on lower Eaton Street rented a tent to celebrate and take photos in for the duration of the weekend, which tacked on an additional cost. For those that chose to gamble at Twin River, the stakes were high, and many walked away with losses.
When asked about the best part of her weekend, Eugene revealed that it was bonding with her friends. “It’s like, getting ready, things go wrong, and you figure it out with your friends. Appointments were missed, hair didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to, dresses came in late…but once someone has an idea and turns it around, it’s always a victory.”
Nora Johnson ’20/THECOWL
Friartire: And We Thought Chicken Nugget Thursday Was the Best It Could Get
by The Cowl Editor on November 14, 2019
Features
by Young, Dumb, and Broke ’20
This weekend, the Class of 2020 gathered together to celebrate their past three years in Friartown for the annual Senior Ring Weekend. Due to budget cuts, the biggest event of the weekend, the Saturday formal night, was moved from an off-campus venue to Raymond Dining Hall. The night included a three-course meal: an extra-special salad bar with three types of greens instead of the usual two, a choice of filet mignon (well-done on the outside, only slightly frozen on the inside) or a tofu and rice dish with lemon seasoning, and stale raisin bran bars for dessert.
The event was deejay’d by the dynamic duo of Dot and Fran, with a special guest appearance by Rhode Island’s famous Monopoly Man himself, who performed a series of lectures (and, for the record, did not breach his contract with the school).
“It was okay,” said one senior when asked about the event. “I was a little disappointed when I found out we weren’t going someplace like Twin River or Foxwoods, but me and my friends still managed to have some fun.”
“I wouldn’t know!” exclaimed another senior. “They didn’t tell us the location beforehand, so when I showed up, they wouldn’t let me in because I’d already used all my swipes for the week! And all that after I’d spent $100 getting my hair and nails done that morning.”
In fact, a number of seniors were turned away due to their lack of meal swipes, including one whose date was still allowed in because he was a freshman. “At least he got to have some fun,” she said.
The event came to a close at 7 p.m., when the dining hall closed for the night.
Overall, the night seemed to be a mild success. This writer is looking forward to what the SRW committee for the Class of 2021 has in store for next year’s big night!
Class of 2019 Celebrates Senior Ring Weekend: A Look Inside the Making of SRW
by The Cowl Editor on November 15, 2018
Campus
by Thomas Edwards ’20
News Co-Editor
Senior Ring Weekend, like many large events on campus, is not organized and planned overnight.
The process behind SRW is a two-year journey that 11 students embark on, preparing everything from the weekend events to the design of the rings.
To help this process run smoothly, these 11 students are divided into the different committees that make up the SRW Core. There are the Co-Chairs, responsible for orchestrating all other committees and the events, Ring Design and Premiere, Special Events Night, Formal Night, the SRW Mass, and Marketing. Each committee is responsible for their respective events.
The members of the SRW core are Devon Guanci ’19 and Caroline Cook ’19 as the Co-Chairs; Madeline Daly ’19 and John Stablein ’19 on the Formal Night Committee; Julia Roselli ’19 and Catherine Keable ’19 on the Special Events Night Committee; Teddy Kiritsy ’19 and Emily Borrello ’19 on the Ring Design and Premiere Committee; Jacqueline Michels ’19 and Allison Schmidt ’19 on the Mass Committee; and Michael Fahy ’19 on the Marketing Committee.
While each member had their own committee and event to worry about, they met every Friday morning to update each other, brainstorm, and ultimately make unanimous decisions.
“The decisions were brainstormed and decided as a group, but we were divided by events for a reason,” said Julia Roselli ’19, one of the two members of the Special Events Night Committee. “Myself and co-chair Catherine Keable were the ones who ultimately made any decisions for Friday and were the ones in contact with the DJ, caterer, designer, and all other outside parties.”
One of the greatest obstacles that came into play for the SRW Core was the size of their budget, a common problem for events.
“When deciding where formal night was going to be, we had to also accommodate Friday night in Peterson. Having formal night at a venue like Gillette, we would not have been able to decorate and have the DJ in Peterson that we did,” said Roselli.
While price and budgeting were problems for the Core, an easy solution was compromising with each other to make sure no event suffered and everyone got what they needed.
Other than the three events of the weekend –Special Events Night which occurred Friday, November 9, Formal Night which took place on Saturday, November 10, and Mass which happened Sunday, November 11 – the main part of SRW is the Providence College Class of 2019 rings themselves.
Much like the events of the weekend, a lot goes into the design, purchase, and distribution of the class rings. Teddy Kiritsy ’19 and Emily Borrello ’19 were the members of the Ring Design and Premiere Committee, and their jobs were solely focused on these aspects.
“We worked hand in hand with a local artist to design every detail of our class ring, down to the number of bushes in the rotary in fact!” said Kiritsy in regards to the design aspect of the rings. Each ring has a secret symbol of some kind that connects the ring to the class, one of which being 19 bushes to represent the class of 2019.
“We worked closely with Balfour designing our collection of rings and which ones we were going to sell to our class. In total I believe we sold nine different types of rings; where some classes have only given out a handful of rings to purchase, like four or five.”
After months of looking through designs, the Ring Design and Premiere committee planned a large event to release the ring design to their class. “We ordered dozens of cupcakes, cake, apple cider flutes, raffles, and it was a smashing success!” said Kiritsy.
The final responsibility of the committee was to write the class ring story to tie the class to the ring further. “It shows the importance of SRW and class rings to the senior class,” said Kiritsy.