By Kurt Martone, Staff Writer
On Saturday, Bonaventure will finally kick off its senior celebration plans with “50 days.” The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed this flurry of celebrations, which usually offer several events throughout the year that seniors can attend. This event is the first celebration since February last year, which was the “100 days” party held in the Rathskeller for the class of 2020.
“50 days” will be kicking off with a formal brunch which will be held in two sessions, one starting at 10:30 a.m., and the other starting at 1:30 p.m. Both brunches will last for an hour and a half.
Tickets were sold at $10 each and students were encouraged to register in groups, per the advertisement email sent out by Mary Frac. One student could register nine others, as each table will seat 10. Each brunch time slot is able to accommodate 150 attendees at one time.
Mary Frac, the assistant director of the center for activities, recreation and leadership at Bonaventure, explained the changes in policy that lead to the events taking place. “This number was in line with the room capacity along with recommendations from the county,” said Frac. “So we were unable to accommodate a greater number than that at each brunch. But while working with the senior class officers, we decided to offer two time slots to safely include as many seniors as we could.”
Registration for the brunch opened on March 10 and has since closed.
“We did not hit full capacity of the 150, but we are still extremely excited about the high response rate we received from the seniors,” said Frac.
Announced on March 24, the university is requiring each attendee to receive a negative COVID-19 test to be able to attend the event. The tests took place on Thursday evening from 5 to 7 p.m., and today, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“We are taking all precautions to protect our campus,” Frac said.
If a student tests positive for the virus, they will be ordered to quarantine and will not be able to attend. Each student with a negative test must present a confirmation email in order to be allowed into the brunch. The university is also requiring people who have been vaccinated to receive a COVID-19 test.
Brandon Stanton, a senior sports media major, said he is happy that senior festivities are able to get started. “It is not really a big deal for me, but it is one of those traditions like prom, so it feels good to be able to go,” Stanton said.
Alcohol will be served. If students wish to drink, they must present both their state ID and school ID. Students were able to choose from meal choices like; strawberry French toast, steak and eggs, siracha chicken and waffles, and roasted vegetable quiche, according to Stanton.
“I do not know exactly how well the event is going to go but I am really optimistic,” said Stanton.
“By keeping the brunches to a limited number with assigned seats, we are able to safely celebrate these graduates’ four years on campus,” said Frac. “The senior class officers have worked tremendously hard to be able to deliver a fun and safe event for their class.”
martonkd18@bonaventure.edu
