RPC announces return of Rondelet

By Andrew Ta     1/20/14 6:00pm

Rondelet, Rice's traditional spring semiformal, will return this year after a two-year absence and will be held Saturday, March 22 at Trevisio Restaurant and Conference Center in the Texas Medical Center, according to Rice Program Council President Aisha Jeeva.

"We are currently in the initial stages of planning the event," Jeeva, a Martel College junior, said. "We don't have a formal budget yet, [but expect to have] 600 tickets, the capacity of the venue."

Jeeva said all ticket sales are used to cover production costs for the event.

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"We never aim to make a profit on the formals," Jeeva said. "Costs include paying for a DJ, sound equipment, EMS, RUPD, any food at the event, non-alcoholic drinks, rental fees, etc. and usually end up in the tens of thousands."

The event will be held off campus because Rice does not have a location on campus which accommodate the attendance expected for this type of event, Jeeva said.

"The only way in which we could have the event on campus is to have it in a tent, which we cannot afford with our current budget," Jeeva said. "We have been lucky with Esperanza the past two years in that there were already tents on campus at the time of the event that we were able to utilize through campus partnerships .... As there is no campus event utilizing a tent taking place around the time of Rondelet, this is not an option for us this year."

According to Jeeva, the last time Rondelet was held was in the spring of 2011, when it sold out all 600 of its tickets. She said RPC expects the event to be similarly popular this year.

"The reason why the event is being brought back this year has to do largely with the significant student demand for it," Jeeva said. "In the past two years that the event has not been held, we have received countless requests for it to be brought back. This student demand combined with the fact that several classes have yet to experience their first Rondelet and greatly wish to do so lead me to believe that this event will be a great success."

Jeeva said Rondelet is being held later in the semester than in previous years to allow students more time to prepare.

"[Rondelet] was not held in ... 2012 because we had only sold [approximately] 20 tickets a week before the formal and would therefore never have been able to cover the cost of the event," Jeeva said. "There were many things that led to this situation, including lack of advertising on our part and the formal being so early in the semester that students didn't have time to find outfits, dates, make plans, etc.

Jeeva said Rondelet was not held last year because RPC combined its budget for both semiformals into the Centennial Esperanza in order to ensure it lived up to the centennial experience.

Jeeva said RPC will continue to improve how it runs semiformals.

"We've fixed a lot of the issues with our online ticketing [and] payment system from last year and are currently working on the last few kinks," Jeeva said. "We also got a lot of requests for a coat check at Esperanza this year, so we are going to see if we can implement that at Rondelet. Since we are also working from a fully functioning building, we won't have any issues with running low on things like water or bathrooms.

Brown College sophomore Gabriel Wang said he is cautiously looking forward to the dance.

"Since it hasn't happened in a while, I don't really know what to expect," Wang said. "If it's anything like Esperanza, I'm just excited to let loose and dance with friends. I'm just glad it's actually happening because I think I remember hearing that two years ago, it was canceled relatively late."

Sid Richardson College junior Karen Hong said she thinks Rondelet will fill a niche in the spring semester.

"I'm definitely excited for just the fact that it's happening since I don't think we get any huge events in the spring semester that are comparable to Esperanza," Hong said. "As for it being off campus, I guess my only concern would be getting there [and] back. It seems too close to drive, but not exactly a desirable distance to walk, either."

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