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Show Friday, Nov. 5, 2010 Page 4 A&EDII'VerSi011 Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.utahstatesman.com No more summer love It's one of those nights you dread. You know how it goes. The tension between both of us has been building for weeks. We are still spending time together, but it's not like it used to be. It's getting harder and harder to put my whole self into it, knowing that one day soon, it will be time to part ways. I try not to think about it. I try to go on like everything is normal and things are as they have always been, but it starts to feel like the whole mess is strapped to a time bomb. I seem to feel the clock slowly winding down, ticking off the seconds until it will all go up in smoke. I have my moments of delusion. I almost convince myself that it will work if I keep trying, that even the tilt of the earth's axis can't keep us apart. Memories of all the happy STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN the Masquerade Ball last year.The event will feature dinner, dance lessons, as well as contests and awards. JESSICA BLACK photo Unmasking the dance staff writer USU's Dance United club will be hosting the second annual Masquerade Ball this Friday at the Bullen Center, 43 South Main, from 6:30-11:30 p.m. Dinner will be catered by the Bluebird restaurant, followed by waltz and ballroom dance lessons and social dancing, as well as contests and awards throughout the night. This is the club's general fundraiser and plans on more than 200 people attending said event coordinator, Brandie Fanjul. She said seating and food is limited, therefore they will be selling tickets left over from this week's sales at the door the night of the event. Manuel Carias, a junior in engineering, attended the Masquerade Ball last year and performed with the ballroom team and taught lessons. will change. Still, it's getting harder and harder to convince myself of this. "It was a blast," Carias said, "I loved the costume contest, and dancing the waltz. Everyone was dancing and having a good time." Carias said he thought the only downside to the night was the limited amount of space, but Fanjul said there will be plenty of room this year since the club rented out a larger venue. She said this will allow more tickets to be sold so more students will have the opportunity to attend. She said the club is selling a total of 175 tickets and each ticket is good for one couple to have dinner, lessons, dancing and a free dance photograph. "We're expecting this to be a very formal event," Fanjul said, "Everyone will be in masks, although not everyone has to be. We do have some people coming in costumes, and that's what why we've got the costume contest for." Then one cold morning, I wake up and know that it has to end. I almost tear up. The pit in my stomach serves as a brutal reminder that this is real and not some horrible dream. Our time together has come and now, is nearly gone. I know what I have to do. I have to end it. We go up the canyon to go climbing and to bike a trail with a few friends. Only I know that it is our last. My mind and heart aren't in it. A compulsive thought seems to bounce off the walls of my mind. "It's over" is all it says. But how do I break the news? As I turn this thought over, my resolve almost slips. But then, a sign from the heavens arrives. With a gust of wind, large snowflakes begin to fall. The storm quickly begins to worsen and we rush to the car. I know what this means. Not a word is spoken during the drive home. The storm is getting worse outside, and a new one is brewing inside me. We make it home and go inside. I know that it's time. "Can I talk to you about something?" I say. I take their silence as a yes. Gathering them into an embrace, I slowly spit out the words, feeling the bitter taste of each one. "We can't be together anymore. Winter is coming, and it would just be too hard on you. This is for the good of both of us." My climbing rope and the handlebars of my mountain bike that I am hugging don't say anything. I know that they are hurt, though. I am feeling the same pain. "Maybe we can take the occasional trip down south together, but we can't see each other every day like we used to. You aren't made I See DANCE, page 7 I See OUTDOORS, page 6 Dance United hosts annual Masquerade Ball By JESSICA BLACK afternoons spent together this summer flash through my mind. I remember days when I woke up before the sun, so excited to spend the day together that it didn't even seem early. I think about all the nights I lay in bed with thoughts of us racing through my mind and a smile on my face. I want to believe that we will always be together, that nothing `Office' writer to perform in Kent Concert Hall By STOREE POWELL senior features writer Good entertainment doesn't come cheap, and good entertainment for students is the goal of USU's student program planners. BJ Novak, an actor, screenwriter and producer for the hit TV show "The Office" is coming to USU Nov. 6 to perform a comedy routine at the Kent Concert Hall, located in the Chase Fine Arts Center at USU. Tom Atwood, programming vice president, said: "We heard good things from other universities who've had him. One of our goals this year has been to increase the quality of talent coming to campus, with names that will bring recognition to the university, and get students excited." The cost to bring Novak to campus is $51,500, Atwood said. Atwood said this amount was reached after some negotiations. "We wanted to make the event free for students, but because of where the budget sits we need to recoup some of the money, so that is why we are selling tickets," Atwood said. After ticket sales, Atwood is projecting about $10,000 will be taken out of the total budget for arts and lecture events. This budget comes from the student activity fee that is paid with tuition. Atwood said sales trends are showing an even spread between the general public and students, and around $15,000 has been generated in revenue so far. Currently, about 1,300 tickets have been sold, leaving 700 more seats open. "It is a last-minute-buyer market, or so it seems to be the case with all of the events, like the HOWL," he said. Last-minute buyers actually help create more revenue because there are other fees attached to buying the tickets the day of the event, Atwood said. Day-of prices for the general public is $25 and $20 for students. Atwood said the hope is to generate as close to $40,000 as possible, so the arts and lectures budget will be left with over half the original budget to plan the rest of the year, Atwood said. The arts and lectures program director, appointed by Atwood, is Skyler Parkhurst. Parkhurst said his budget for the year 2010-11 is $75,000. If the total budget is not spent, he said it does not roll over to the next year, but goes into a general USU fund used for campus maintenance, etc. "We have to spend it or lose it. Last year we lost a total of $60,000. It is just not fair to students to not use it all," Parkhurst said. Linda Zimmerman, the interim director for student involvement, said the programming budget is split into arts and lecture, traditions and activities. She also said the Kent Concert Hall, the location of the event, is giving a deal on using the facility. James Morales, vice president of student services, said while these decisions are made by the student leaders like Atwood, Morales' office does the final approval. Morales said he felt even if the event did not generate the $40,000 that it is worth it. "We want people to see that USU is on the radar, not just off in northern Utah, but that we attract some top-name people. It is not inexpensive to bring somebody like this, but the impact of what he brings in terms of visibility and exposure for students of someone at the level makes it worth the money," Morales said. Morales said one reason for bringing Novak is that when students are considering where to go to college, and they know that BJ Novak came to USU, "that creates an association, a positive image of USU in the minds of the prospective students." "That is something you just can't put a price tag on," Morales said. Atwood said the idea to bring Novak came about collectively because "The Office" is a hit on college campuses, and season seven is launching this fall. The decision was made in April. "We are trying to hit more than one bird with one stone. He's not just a comedian, but he is an actor, writer, and producer. We felt that since he is heavily involved in the entertainment industry, there is also an educational factor," Atwood said. Morales said, "We don't know how this will go, if will he engage the students with a discussion that is audience led, or if he will bring a canned presentation. We've left that to him because it is creative license. I hope he shares with the students all of his experience." Atwood said Novak will be answering some questions after the presentation. Tickets are available at the Caine College of the Arts Box Office, located in Room 139-B in the Chase Fine Arts Center through Friday to students, who must show a valid USU ID. The general public can buy tickets online at www.arts.usu.edu . — storee.powell@aggiemail.usu.edu |