By: Omar K. Elmore, senior writer
Matthew Nocella ‘18 is working to start an open mic event at the Richardson Family Pavilion in the Greek Village. Noticing a lack of social events during the week, Nocella hopes to fill a void that several students have voiced to him.
“We have this amazing pavilion at the Greek Village that no one uses,” says Nocella. “The potential is there, we just need students to put something on.”
Nocella envisions one Thursday of every month to be dedicated to his open mic idea. Students would submit a sample of their music to the group overseeing the event, who would then decide which acts would go on and in what order. Between acts, students may perform spoken word poetry as interludes.
“There are a lot of ways we could do it successfully,” says Nocella. “Obviously, we want as many students as possible to participate so we may need a limit of acts each time. We also would need to decide whether or not the event would be wet or dry.”
Nocella visited Campus Union to pitch the idea and is working on a proposal that would allow Campus Union to sponsor the open mic and provide funds for door prizes, necessary equipment and, if the events would allow alcohol, security for the Greek Village.
In the Campus Union meeting, several delegates offered their ideas including making the event a true open mic and possibly opening up the stage to non-Wofford, local acts.
Nocella also visited the Interfraternity Council meeting to gauge fraternity leaders’ interest.
“The open mic would be in the Greek Village and we have a large number of students in Greek organizations,” Nocella says. “Getting that support could go a long way in making this event work and thrive. It could show unaffiliated students a different side of Greek Life than what they see on the weekends.”
In order to get the event off the ground, Nocella needs a Campus Union delegate to submit his proposal to the assembly. If passed, funds would be made available and Nocella, who has served on Campus Union in his time at Wofford, could take advantage of the Campus Relations Committee resources. Campus Relations, led by Elizabeth Beecy ’18, advertises events for the campus at large by posting on social media, canvasing campus with flyers and getting groups to work together to make events successful.
“It’s important to give our students enjoyable activities to do here at Wofford,” Nocella says. “It’s also a way to show younger students here that, if you have an idea, there are avenues to get it off the ground.”
Nocella is working to get the first open mic event on March 22. If you are interested in the proposal, Nocella can be reached at his email [email protected]. As always, Campus Union meetings are open to the student body; they meet on Mondays at 6 p.m. in Olin 101.
