On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, in the middle of midterms, I had a short and sweet interview with part of the PartyCo Board. The Chair, Secretary and PR manager took some time to let me in on the workings of their board and their philosophy. They also did not mind sharing a little bit about the upcoming party: FALA, which takes place this upcoming Tuesday.
I’m here with part of the PartyCo Board. Would you mind introducing yourselves?
We have the chair, Tommy Thomas. The secretary is Esther Kromah and the PR manager Daniël de Haas. Hold your rotten tomatoes, he says, as he is working on improving PR a bit more day by day. This interview is without Otis Carpay, treasurer, and Alec Cornelisse, the ‘Music Master’.
Most of your board is new, and you have been working on the parties for some weeks now. But now there is a party coming up, called FALA. We have seen a lot of posters and announcements on Facebook. A lot of people are speculating about it, so could you shine some light on the situation?
First of all, it is not an Erodios conspiracy, but a collaboration of different excited people. Something that makes FALA different is that it is a very big party in Elliott, but now with an organized BYOB pre-party in the Bachtensteene common room for the whole campus.
After a certain point, everyone from the pre-party will go to Elliott for a massive party. The exciting part about this is that while usually everyone has pre-drinks in their own little group, we will all have pre-drinks together as one community on Tuesday. Everyone is invited, so PartyCo urges everyone to come by!
I usually enjoy pre-drinks more than the party itself. Is that something you want to cater to?
This event is a bit different from your usual pre-drinks, as it can be seen as a chill backyard party. There will be a sound system and it will not be limited to some mingling. However, the actual party will without a doubt outshine the pre-drinks. The party in ELLIOTT is definitely the main event.
You’re starting the hype during the pre-drinks, but you’ve started earlier with promotion. Is that why you now have a dog as your profile picture?
Yes! FALA is adopted by us and is now our mascot, because the story of Fala, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s dog is truly great (Read about it here). The party does not have a theme, apart from being built around the idea of Fala.
How is FALA different from a regular party, except for the amount of guests?
We are collaborating with two guys from Middelburg who will bring a completely different sound- and light system. Usually, Elliott is a mix between going wild and some chilling, but this will really be a dance party with amazing music and DJ, awesome lighting and a very exciting atmosphere. You already start off as a group because you have pre-drinks together. There will be more mingling and everyone will be on the same level as they get to Elliott.
Is the rise of such a new party because of your board functioning, or is it a one-time thing? Are you taking a completely different approach?
This is an experiment, but if it proves to be successful we can definitely repeat it in the future. The last board was very excited and involved, the parties were hard to live up to. We would like to build upon their work and try something else.
PartyCo sometimes gets a bad reputation, but this board is putting effort into changing Elliott parties and creating a nice status quo for everyone. This half semester was a good transition period, now the real work begins. PartyCo would also like to give something back for the people who’d stuck with them through their beginner’s phase. From the break onwards, parties will be consistently better. We are also delighted to have Youran (Kock) and other DJ’s at our parties, because they really add to the party atmosphere.
Are there very specific things you’d like to achieve this and upcoming semester?
It is also about the longitudinal plans. We just want to step on every party so every party will be better than the last. We want to give people at UCR, which can get hectic and busy, a good opportunity to unwind. We ask students to have an open mind for what is to come, as we do the most we can in the one year we have.
You work together with Elliott a lot. Especially the third-years know that the PartyCo-Elliott relationship could be a bit turbulent. How is it going now?
Very well. We are on good terms with Elliott. We acknowledge that they are a lot more experienced than us. We are a new board, open to the ideas and thoughtful insights of the Elliott board. The Elliott bar team taught us how to work with them, which seriously improved our productivity and relationship.
What do you still have planned for the upcoming semester?
We of course have the external party coming up, which will be in Rotterdam, since most people would like to go there. PartyCo is currently talking to different clubs about offers, and will make sure the students will benefit from going with PartyCo. There is also a drag party during the GSA week, which will hopefully be big as well.
Any last comments?
XOXO, PartyCo.
Renske Wienen, Class of 2017, is a cognitive science & chemistry major from Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
