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Nothing better summarizes the stereotypical college experience than an on-campus rave. Music blasting, bass loud enough for students to feel in their bones and students standing shoulder-to-shoulder as they sing and dance to EDM. Pair that with a fog machine, lasers, and glow paint being thrown about, and the event sounds straight out of a coming-of-age movie. While it is no wonder that Grand View University students love GV Glo, this appreciation may not be as strong for those left to deal with the chaos following in its wake.  

      Grand View’s Student Activities Council (SAC) hosted the first GV Glo in the spring of 2011. After the event’s success, it quickly became a campus tradition students look forward to every spring. According to Brady Wagner, senior Business Analytics and Spanish student as well as co-president of SAC, the event takes months of planning. From securing amenities to considering the coordination of the night, the student organization works hard to ensure the event runs smoothly and safely.  

      Unfortunately, the event did not happen in 2020 and 2021, due to SAC opting to put a pause to the tradition for the sake of public health. While students were surely sad with the decision, it only added to the anticipation for the events’ return in 2022.  

      Falling on Thursday, April 7, 2022, GV Glo’s grand reentry was an occasion worth celebrating for the many students who had yet to experience their first Glo. However, the somewhat-organized chaos of the event and memory of GV Glo’s past may have left a bad taste in the mouths of the staff and faculty who witnessed the fallout firsthand. 

      Unlike the other Residence Life staff, Hull Housing Director Bryce Dean had the opportunity to attend GV Glo in 2019 as a first-year student completing his undergraduate degree, giving him the unique ability to understand both student and faculty perspectives of the event.  

      “From the student side, it was fun to be around friends for a night and have a controlled chaos party,” he said. “Professionally, it is the worst thing that Grand View can do. It is a lawsuit liability just waiting to happen.” 

      Last year alone, Residence Life responded to about 75 incidents, but decided to use mostly verbal reminders of housing policies rather than initiating more consequential actions. Other familiar challenges Residence Life experienced the night of GV Glo included facility issues, such as paint coming off as students enter the buildings and rowdy behavior which ends with holes in walls, or safety issues, such as combative behavior when non-residents are asked to leave the facility.   

      To prepare for the activities that take place both prior and following GV Glo, Residence Life treats that Thursday like a typical weekend with four RAs, one Hall Director, and one emergency contact on call; however, two additional Hall Directors are usually willing to provide backup in case multiple incidents occur at the same time. RAs also conducted rounds at 8pm, 11pm and 2am as if it were a weekend. 

      One RA on duty the night of GV Glo was junior Biochemistry student, Isabelle Juhler. Juhler started as Hull Suite’s second floor RA at the end of January, a position she still holds for the 2022-23 academic year. With her on rounds was fellow junior Biochemistry student, Lucas Kramer, who began his position as Knudsen’s second floor RA that January, making the pair some of the newest members of Residence Life.  

      The night of GV Glo, Juhler and Kramer completed their 8pm rounds before attending the event. The inside of the tent “pretty crazy,” according to Juhler, causing the duo to feel as though they were two of the few sober participants. Nonetheless, they were able to enjoy the atmosphere while keeping themselves towards the back of the tent in case they were needed.  

      “I still allowed myself to have a little bit of fun with it, and it was a cool social event to attend,” Juhler said. “I guess my perspective was a little bit different because I tried to keep myself out of it a bit.”  

      The pair left the event early to clean the paint off themselves before their 11 pm rounds. Fortunately, Juhler and Kramer only had to respond to one noise complaint that resulted in a room search, the first for Juhler, while the Hall Directors dealt with some of the more challenging situations where student safety was at risk. It not uncommon for a participant or other resident to leave with medical emergency personnel on the night of GV Glo. Last year, one ambulance was called prior to the start of the actual event.  

      “GV Glo is not like a magical bubble where you can’t get sick or can’t get in a really bad shape,” said Robby Patterson, the Director of Residence at GVU.  

      Since the beginning of his employment in 2011, Patterson has witnessed nine GV Glos, one as of which he was Grand View’s Head of Housing. Therefore, he understands the damage the event can cause to both the facilities and students who exceed their limits. He estimates that for most of the participants, GV Glo is an incredibly positive experience, for others it is not.  

“We’ve got the good and the bad, and I think starting to say ‘yeah, the, the bad stuff is pretty heavy’ and we can’t just ignore that,” said Patterson. 

      Dr. Amy Getty, Professor of English and Director of the Honors Program, shared a professor’s perspective of the campus tradition as someone who sees, or rather does not see, the students the Friday after GV Glo. During Dr. Getty’s 21 years at Grand View University, she has instructed students of all majors and academic levels in First-Year Composition, various English courses, as well as Honors and English capstones. From her experience, GV Glo does not have much of an effect on Thursday courses, but it can be seen in the state of most students that Friday.  

      “A lot of my older students don’t attend,” said Getty. “It seems to be when I teach the first-year students in the spring, a lot of them go to GV Glow and then either don’t show up the next day or show up not at their full capacity because they’re either hungover or still drunk.” 

      That is not to say that all students fit into either of those two categories. In fact, Dr. Getty is sure there are also many students who participate in GV Glo and then attend classes the following day at their fullest capacity.  

      “It just depends on how much they get into the spirit of it,” said Getty.  

While she does find the humorous event a “rite of passage” for students, she also worries that students may find themselves in dangerous or harmful situations. 

      “Everybody has their college experience. They want those memorable events and that’s great, that’s wonderful,” said Getty. “But you don’t want your memorable event to be that you woke up in the hospital.” 

      This year, students can expect a few changes to the SAC event. Rather than being in a tent in the parking lot, GV Glo will occur in the Johnson Wellness Center with more security present. There also will be no paint or foam being sprayed that can get into people’s eyes, replaced by fog and lights to maintain the rave-like atmosphere.   

      Students can also take steps to ensure they have a fun and safe time at GV Glo. Primarily, understanding their limits and when to call it a night will help prevent students from finding themselves in dangerous situations. Secondly, staying within the bounds of the law and Grand View policy will help the night to run smoothly with no incidents with Residence Life. Last, students being responsible and respectful to themselves and those around them will increase the chance that GV Glo will continue to happen in the future.  

      GV Glo is meant to be an opportunity for all students to come together under one roof or tent and have a wonderful time. With the help of the students, they can do just that.