AARON SKUBBY, Asst. News Editor—Administration opened a naming contest for the new social spaces on campus, and students selected the name “Moon Hall.” The interior spaces will be known as “New Moon,” “Crescent Moon,” “Gibbous Moon” and “Full Moon.”
The contest opened through an email request sent from Vice President of Student Development Laurel Kennedy through an open Qualtrics survey asking for options for the Social Spaces Ballot until 11:59 pm on Monday, September 30. Kennedy asked for three qualities when considering the name authenticity, ease of use, good taste, creativity and cleverness, and lastly, “fun-ness.” The ballot options were selected by students in a variety of leadership roles to score the nominations. The administrators and selected students identified the top seven names for the ballot.
In an email sent October 11, Kennedy announced that the winning name was suggested by Alex Tubbs ‘20 and William Kelsey ‘23. The email explained their motivation behind the name choice, “Moon Hall is opposite and reflective of the Sunnies. This is a good way to give a nod to the Sunnies while also indicating a positive forward change.”
The prize described in the original request for options for the ballot included $500 for an event at Moon Hall. “Funds can be used for food, music, lighting… basically, anything except controlled substances or illicit activities,” Kennedy wrote.
The development of the new party spaces are part of an effort to shift campus parties away from dorms or apartments and into designated social spaces, due to safety concerns.
Students were invited to suggest a name for the hall, and for each of the four interior spaces. There were 45 names suggested for the social space, and a collection of students in leadership roles narrowed it down to 7 choices. Nearly 1,100 students voted and selected the winning name.
The social spaces are planned to open on the weekend of October 25-26.