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NewsvinePenguins, Care Bears, dominoes, and obnoxious tourists came ready to party at the Mausoleum Friday night. But while organizers hailed the event a success, students complained about overcrowding, poor audio and a power outage that left the sound system and their spirits down.
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Thousands of students attended the Mausoleum Party on Friday night but described the party as mediocre due to a deficient audio system and overcrowding. Despite student complaints, Junior class and ASSU organizers deemed the event a success.
Following a four-year absence, publicity and word-of-mouth sent droves of students streaming up Palm Drive on foot and by Marguerite shuttles. Event organizers said they distributed 4,000 wristbands before midnight and admitted more than 1,000 after the wristbands ran out.
For their part, event organizers said they were pleased with the party’s outcome.
“It feels great to be a part of bringing back a Stanford tradition,” said Junior Class President Brett Hammon. “It’s nice to plan an event that hasn’t happened in the last five years because I’m confident that it was the best Mausoleum Party any of the undergrads have ever been to.”
After braving the cold and walking up to two miles from their dorms, students gave the event sub-par ratings.
“I was expecting a lot more, so this is kind of below my expectations,” said freshman Robert Bonkowski, who arrived dressed as Mozart. “Because this is such a pumped-up event, and we haven’t had it for five years, I was expecting more — more people, more dancing, in general more everything.”
Crissy Iglesias, a 2006 graduate and party attendee, wasn’t sure Friday night was worth the wait.
“I don’t think the Class of 2006 missed out on too much,” she said.
Senior Rachel Levy agreed, rating the party as “okay,” but said that she was glad the University agreed to hold it.
“This is my fourth year here, and this is the first time that I have seen the campus observe Halloween in a unified way,” she said.
While students griped about the lack of music, which began at around 11 p.m., many said that they were impressed with the different costumes students wore. Sophomore Alex Coley, who wore a pumpkin on his head, said that seeing everybody in costume was the highlight of the party.
“I saw another guy with a pumpkin head, and that made my night,” he said. “Other than the costumes, it was a regular party, albeit with way more people.”
Some students eschewed traditional outfits altogether. Sophomore Chad Bowling took one dorm mate’s lemons and turned them into lemonade.
“There was a girl that wanted to be a spoon, but that didn’t work out,” he said. “So I turned it into a penis.”
To ensure that the party ran smoothly, a small contingent of police officers were on duty in addition to Special Event patrols. Police made one arrest for public intoxication, and two students were transported to the emergency room for alcohol poisoning, Deputy Ken Bates said.
Though the party was officially an alcohol-free event, Hammon acknowledged that some students arrived at the party having already consumed alcohol.
“Fortunately, there were only a few belligerent people, and they were taken care of right away,” he said.
Bates said that police were concerned about students “frontloading” for the party, but that there were no major issues relating to alcohol or illicit activity.
“One very positive thing to note is that there was not one noise complaint from anyone from the City of Palo Alto regarding the party, which is what shut it down last time,” Bates added.
Jessica Stanley, ASSU student life exec. and a junior, said that the Mausoleum Party’s success meant it would definitely be organized again next year.