STUDENTS MUST PAY TO PLAY
Fee added to Bermuda Shorts Day
For the first time in more than 40 years, students will have to pay admission to the University of Calgary’s year-end party, better known as Bermuda Shorts Day.
The event, organized and run by the Students’ Union (SU), has become a tradition for U of C students looking to unwind from a year of textbooks and exams with a tropical-themed, daylong party.
The union says the event was first organized in 1989 at the request of administrators to give students a “safe place to celebrate the end of the school year,” but its roots go all the way back to 1960, when a male student wanted to make it more acceptable for men to wear shorts.
After losing approximately $88,000 last year, the union will charge for wristbands to the event that’s scheduled for April 13.
Since the event was relocated off campus in 2009 due to construction, the union said it has run into “unmanageable costs,” including paying for 24-hour security for a four-hour event, and a rental charge to use a university parking lot as its venue.
Linda Dalgetty, vice-president of finance and services with the U of C, said the university is “aware of the cost pressures” for the students’ union, adding there’s a “well-established process” for addressing concerns, “including opportunities for cost savings.”
But Ryan Wallace, vice-president of operations and finance with the SU said multiple proposals have been submitted to the university asking for financial assistance but the answer is always a “flat-out no.”
He said the university is in favour of giving students a safe place to unwind but is unwilling to help foot the bill.
“I think, at the end of the day, we both agree on one thing, and
I think, at the end of the day, we both agree on one thing, and that’s students being safe on the last day of classes.
that’s students being safe on the last day of classes, and that’s really what the SU sees Bermuda Shorts Day as being,” he said. “We just really want to have that conversation with the university of what a safe environment looks like.”
In a release, the SU said the event helps avoid dangerous or unsanctioned student partying, such as an incident last year at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., where police handed out more than 300 tickets.
Wallace said an open dialogue between faculty and the union around the financial challenges surrounding Bermuda Shorts Day could help cut down on off-campus debauchery.
Early bird tickets will sell for $5 starting May 16. Tickets will also be available from April 9-12 in Mac Hall from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.