By Marianne Holman
Ticket sales for the Howl, the annual Halloween party held at Utah State University are being regulated this year in an effort to provide a safe and friendly environment for Utah State students and their friends.
?Student government feels that its focus and responsibility is to provide activities for Utah State University students,? said Tiffany Evans, director of Student Involvement and Leadership at Utah State. ?Those students on the campus paying student fees should be the primary focus.?
The Associated Students of Utah State University have put on the ?Howl? for more than 25 years, and decided it was finally time to regulate who may attend the party.
An estimated 5,000 to 6,000 students attended the Howl last year, yet just under half of those attendees were Utah State students, said Holly Scott, public relations director for the Associated Students of Utah State University.
?It?s not that we don?t want other people to come,? Scott said. ?We really just want to make it specific to students that attend Utah State.?
The Howl has the reputation of being the biggest Halloween party in the state, attracting students from colleges all around Utah.
?About 45 percent of attendees are Utah State students,? Scott said. ?The rest are from all over.?
Students from Dixie, Southern Utah University, Utah Valley State College, BYU and the University of Utah are some of the many who have traveled to attend the Howl.
?It is a huge party with tons of people there and a lot of different activities,? said Tessa Hansen, a BYU student majoring in illustration who went to the Howl last year.
In the past the Howl has included a variety of activities including live bands, DJ?s, a hypnotist, karaoke and laser tag.
The appeal of the Howl for many students may be the opportunity to be with thousands of college students from all around the state, the variety of activities, or the less-strict dressing standards.
?There are people in outfits you don?t want to see, ? Hansen said. ?There were girls in lingerie.?
But the regulation plans aren?t for what people are wearing to the Howl, but for the way people are acting at the Howl.
By regulating ticket sales to the Howl, the student association is trying to cut back on problems they have had in the past, problems commonly attributed to non-Utah State University students, said Evans, student involvement director. Problems in the past have ranged from pushing and shoving, to theft and even underage drinking.
This year limiting who is able to buy entrance tickets is part of the plan. Only Utah State students are granted the option of buying tickets ? a limited number of tickets per person.
?Mostly we are not trying to target students from other schools,? said Scott, public relations director for the ASUSU. ?We just want Utah State students to invite their friends. So if they have friends from other schools, we hope they invite them.?
Utah State students can purchase a total of five tickets to the Howl. Two of those tickets can be purchased at the student price of $10, and any additional tickets up to five can be purchased for $20 each. Students must buy tickets in advance because no tickets will be sold at the door.