NOD Vegas has high roll

By Joey Capparella     11/4/10 7:00pm

Wiess College went all out for students to go all in at the 38th annual Night of Decadence: "Viva NOD Vegas" this past Saturday. More than 1,500 scantily clad students attended, approximately 200 more students than last year's NOD.Wiess Socials Kelsey Mase and Alysa Frost both said they were pleased with how the party went this year.

"We did a lot of things that we haven't done before this year and we didn't know if it would all come together," Mase, a Wiess junior, said. "In the end, I think all of our hard work paid off."

Most of the new attractions were seen outside in the main quad. In keeping with the Vegas theme, there was a magician, a fountain, card tables and a fake wedding chapel. Mase and Frost said that these decorations were planned in an attempt to move students into the quad.

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"We wanted there to be more activities besides dancing to make the party more inclusive," Mase said.

According to the Rice University Police Department and Rice Emergency Medical Services, NOD was also a relative success from a security perspective.

RUPD Major Dianna Marshall said there were 11 referrals to Judicial Affairs and two students arrested. One arrest was for public intoxication and the other for disorderly conduct, specifically failure to cooperate with officers.

Marshall said these numbers are similar to last year's NOD, when there were also 11 referrals and one arrest.

"NOD is safer than some other public parties because there is so much student involvement in the security plan," Marshall said. "NOD is actually a good model for other parties to follow in terms of security planning."

REMS director Lisa Basgall said there were approximately 20 EMS calls related to the party, with two students transported to the hospital for alcohol-related reasons. Will Rice College senior and REMS Captain Hashim Zaidi said this number is comparable to other public parties, despite the greater size of NOD.

"If other public parties were planned this well, our jobs would be a lot easier," Basgall said. "Kudos to Wiess for being so well-organized."

Mase and Frost said they worked closely with RUPD and REMS throughout the month of October to formulate a security plan for the party.

For students who did not attend the public party, one alternative was NODgeball, held Saturday night at the Barbara and David Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center. Brown College junior Joey Spinella helped organize the event.

"We had approximately 400 people throughout the night, with a maximum of about 200 in the Rec Center at one time," Spinella said. "Last year, I pretty much organized it by myself, but this year, we had sponsorship from Agape Christian Ministries, the Rice Wellness Center and the Brown College Intercollegiate Committee."

Spinella said he came up with the idea last year when the Rec Center was built. He thought the idea would be a good opportunity for students who did not wish to attend NOD but still wanted to participate in something exciting that night. Activities at the event included dodgeball, racketball, indoor soccer and basketball, with free food and Chick-fil-A coupons provided as well.

Brown College freshman Zach Hanna enjoyed the NOD alternative.

"I had a ton of fun at NODgeball," Hanna said. "It's cool that groups of people get together so that you don't feel like you're left out just because you don't want to go to NOD."

Nevertheless, many students enjoyed the experience of going to NOD.

"I didn't participate in any of the activities in the quad, but I thought this year's NOD was just as fun as last year's," Sid Richardson College sophomore Amanda Mills said.

Duncan College sophomore Louise Bentsen agreed.

"I thought it was really fun. This was my first time going, and it wasn't as shady as I thought it would be," Bentsen said. "It seemed just like a normal public party but with less clothes.

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