This year, students have the opportunity to participate in the first University-wide Late Night initiative. In order to provide fun, safe events on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, the Game Room and common spaces on the first floor of Newcomb will remain open until 2 a.m. University Programs Council is in charge of organizing the events, which are called “After Hours.”
“After Hours is an initiative started by UPC [that] is being extended over to different organizations and parts of Grounds,” fourth-year College student and UPC Chair Tom Pilnik said.
The After Hours events take place every other Thursday and Saturday nights, and events are scheduled every Friday night. The Thursday night events are Open Mic Nights held at Open Grounds. On Fridays, programs like movie screenings are hosted in Newcomb. Every other Saturday, there are events in Ern Commons, planned in partnership with first-year association councils.
Through the After Hours initiative, UPC hopes to make weekend opportunities available to all students on Grounds.
“[There was] a push from students and UPC leadership to cater to what the student body wants,” Pilnik said. “I think it’s clear that there’s a need and a want for late night programming that falls between going out and staying in.”
By planning events every weekend, UPC hopes to greatly expand choice for University students.
“We’re not trying to program against the Corner or Rugby Road, but there is a limited number of things to do and we wanted to create other fun [activities] for those hours,” fourth-year College student and Vice Chair of Programming Caitlin Kingston said. “[It’s about] giving people options — fun, safe options.”
Some members of UPC and the University think the traumatic events of last year identified a gap in options for late-night hours.
“A lot of what happened last year and last semester has made the University more aware of U.Va.’s late night environment,” third-year College student and Vice Chair of Programming EJ Oliverio said. “I think overall, throughout the University, there is a new degree of self-awareness that last year brought our student body.”
So far, the After Hours programs have been successful, UPC members said. The first Open Mic Night was Sept. 3, and UPC leadership said they were excited by the turn out.
“There were 15 or more performers [at Open Mic Night] and over 100 people turned up,” Pilnik said. “It felt very inclusive and it was a great dynamic.”
Director of the Late Night Committee Maddie Houck, a fourth-year College student, said she hopes that the After Hours program will succeed in UPC’s overall mission to provide fun, creative, alternative programming.
“We [like to see that] people are enjoying events when they come to them,” Houck said. “A quality event means a lot more than just quantity.”
While these events are open and available to all students, UPC is hoping to cater in particular to first years’ needs. The Saturday night events are especially geared toward first years, as students will help plan the events through their association councils.
Pilnik said his end goal is to create a successful framework for future UPC leadership to plan late night programming.
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