By: Abby Miles ’25
Looking for something new to do on the weekends or want to boost your club’s engagement? Check out the new Late Night Series offered by Lafayette Activities Forum (LAF).
In the last two years, LAF was looking at opportunities for late-night programming to highlight student groups around campus. LAF hoped to help students find a social circle or find new things to do on the weekend. Last fall, LAF created a new late-night programming model, and in spring students were selected to serve on the late-night programming committee, which aimed to highlight, help, and promote one to two events each weekend.
The new committee planned four events, and then coordinated with clubs across campus to provide programming throughout the fall semester. In September, the first three events—bingo, music appreciation, and Latin dance—had 200, 80, and 80 attendees, respectively.
“So far, the committee’s events are widely successful. At our Welcome Back Bingo event, we saw increased attendance from both the first-year class and the student body as a whole,” says LAF member Brady Valle ’25. “By sponsoring other campus clubs and organizations, they also benefit from an attendance perspective. Feedback from attendees is also widely positive. As the semester continues, we look forward to seeing how future programs benefit the campus community!”
LAF has been trying to find ways to do mutually beneficial collaborations with groups on campus, says Melissa Dalrymple, associate director of student involvement. When student organization leaders were contacted during the summer for the new Late Night Series, all spots filled up quickly.
“Our clubs and organizations here already put on really wonderful and creative events,” Dalrymple says. “Our thought process while building this series was to either highlight an already existing event or encourage a group to consider planning one. The only requirements? It must be open to all students and take place on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday in the evening. We’re hoping the program will continue to grow, and we can highlight more.”
Late Night Series will include exciting events in October, such as casino night, a Halloween rave, and a Family Weekend concert. Starting Oct. 18, groups will be able to register for a programming spot for the spring semester on OurCampus.
How it works:
Late Night Series hopes to host one to two events a weekend in the spring as well. To reserve a spot, each club would need to:
Keep in mind events are scheduled after 8 p.m. Thursday–Saturday. These events can be new or typical events a club organizes. LAF will advertise each event similarly to LAF-sponsored events (emails to students, Instagram posts, flyers). Sign up for a spot in the series for the spring!