Smooth sailing for Class of 2012 boat trip

For 500 fortunate sophomores last Tuesday, harsh economic realities faded into the New York skyline. Serenaded by two DJs on a four-deck cruise ship, roughly 40 percent of the Class of 2012 was able to take advantage of a three-hour excursion around New York Harbor.

The event was organized and funded by the sophomore class government, which chose to devote funds to one large, memorable event early in the year, class officers said.

“Instead of doing small study breaks and a bunch of little things, we wanted to do something that people would really enjoy and actually care about and actually want to come to,” explained Class of 2012 treasurer Austin Hollimon, who said he came up with the idea for the cruise.

Hollimon did not disclose a specific figure for the overall cost of the cruise, but said that it was “significantly more” than $9,000. Because the event took place on a weeknight, however, the charge to rent the boat was “relatively cheap,” he added. A representative of the Spirit of New York boat, which the class took, said that a similar trip would cost between $14,000 and $15,000. Class of 2012 president Lindy Li declined to comment on the cost of the event, though she said the initial price quote was $70 per person.

“Initially, I was horrified by the cost, but I was determined to negotiate and significantly reduced it,” she said.

In addition to having their pictures taken on board, sophomores who went on the trip could take advantage of the ship’s two dance floors in between snack and beverage breaks.

“Everybody was dancing basically,” participant Tulio Alvarez ’12 said of the cruise. “It was just a blast … We had some people enjoying a romantic evening on the harbor. It was kind of a romantic evening.”

To reserve a place on the cruise, sophomores started lining up more than three hours prior to the release of the tickets on Sept. 12, cruise participant Nisha Rao ’12 said. “There was a huge line, and the first 500 people got tickets,” she explained, and Li estimated that the tickets sold out in 10 minutes.

Hollimon added that there were more than 100 people still on the line, which stretched from the Frist Campus Center ticket office to the McGraw Center on the third floor, 15 minutes later when tickets ran out. “It’s really unfortunate. It’s one of things you’d really like to take the whole class to.”

But Alvarez noted that the limit on the number of people ensured that the class made the most out of its resources. “It guarantees that there’s no waste,” he explained. “Imagine spending a lot of money to accommodate the entire [class].”

Alvarez added that he preferred a large event like the boat cruise to multiple smaller ones throughout the year.

“It’s not like [the class government] spent more than they would have otherwise,” he noted. “It does show that given that the budget was probably reduced, you can still do fun things in the recession. You just have to find the right prices, have the right ideas.”

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Hollimon said that he was looking to jazz up the type of events usually funded by the USG. Given that sophomores’ social lives will soon be dominated by the eating club scene, he said, it is important to promote class unity in memorable ways.

“Class government is really dull,” he explained. “I want to do stuff that your typical student government isn’t going to do. We’re the one body that truly gets to be creative and do stuff that people want to do, and this was a perfect opportunity.”

The only complaints he’s received, Hollimon noted, have been from members of other classes. Even graduate students e-mailed him asking for tickets to the cruise, he added.

“I think most people said, ‘Our class officers haven’t done that thing for us,’ ” Hollimon said. “What can I say? ‘You should have been in 2012.’ ”