Pirates who planned to bring friends to this year's GrooveBoston may be disappointed to find out that is not allowed this year.
Last year, Community Development opened the music event to non-SHU students for a $5 fee. However, this year the rules have changed.
The Student Activities Board announced that the event is open only to Seton Hall students.
Reactions have been mixed.
Junior Durelle Hill said he is not surprised by this turn of events. Although he said he will not attend the event this year, he has noticed throughout his years as a Seton Hall student that the school "has never been too accepting of outside guests for large-scale events" and that the school's activities "have always been geared more toward the student population."
Sophomore Tayannah Clark attended the GrooveBoston event last semester and is not too accepting of the new rule.
"It's going to make the party less fun," Clark said.
Clark added that this year's event will be less crowded.
Freshman Kareema Boone said he does not think that only allowing SHU students into the event is a bad thing.
"It doesn't really matter, because if you know how to have fun, the circumstances and rules don't matter," Boone said.
Freshman Domenica Ramirez said she likes the idea of it being exclusive to Seton Hall students.
"People might complain because it's a new rule," Ramirez said. "But it will be safer. You won't have to worry about outsiders and it will be more of a private setting to meet new people from our school."
Junior Adaywole Fields expressed his concerns.
"It's horrible," Fields said. "I think it's despicable how the school enforces their rules on public events."
Freshman Lauren Goldsberry said GrooveBoston should let other people outside the University in because more money will be brought in.
"They would actually make more money that way and (Seton Hall students) might even be able to get in free," Goldsberry said.
Freshman Dana Tait also said the school would make more money if it admitted other people and that it would make Seton Hall look like a fun school.
English professor and Seton Hall alumna Rachel Tanski attempted to shed some light on the reasons behind the new restrictions.
"There was a very rowdy All-American Rejects concert in 2006," Tanski said. "But there was also a Mike Posner concert a couple of years ago, before he was known, and it was more tame because there were not a lot of people."
Britany Nilson of SAB said the reason why only SHU students can attend this year is because that is what will ultimately be fair for SHU students."The student activity fee that's included in the tuition helps pay for GrooveBoston, so it's not fair to students that nonstudents are allowed to come if they don't pay this (activities) fee," Nilson said, along with Midnight Madness.
The event will be held on March 30, 2013, from 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. in the Richie Regan Recreation and Athletic Center. Tickets are $5. To get tickets visit http://sabgrooveboston.eventbrite.com..
Noora Badwan can be reached at noora.badwan@student.shu.edu.
