2008 Woodie Awards
Plugging into community
International students and WMEB team up to support Ofelia's
Brett Sowerby
Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: Style
Put on those dancing shoes, it's time for a party.
The University of Maine's radio station, WMEB, and the International Student Association (ISA) are throwing a dance party on the third floor of Orono's Bear Brew Pub, otherwise known as Soma 36. The two groups worked together in the hope of bringing a wide variety of musical tastes to this Friday's Oronoka, an "alternative sort of party," as Alicia Kelley, one of the event's coordinators, described it.
This cooperation between the two groups - WMEB and ISA - stemmed from the recent closure of the Bangor art hub, Ofelia's. WMEB had intended to run their own separate night of music, but, with Ofelia's base of operations and artistic venue closed on short notice when the building was condemned last month, they were forced to rethink their approach. Kelley, a WMEB DJ with a sly smile, pointed out that this was, "a small problem."
Because WMEB was unable to hold their event as scheduled, it was decided that ISA and WMEB would combine their efforts for one outstanding evening.
"This is something you don't see very often," Kelley said, "two [student] organizations working together."
Emin Okutan, a co-ordinator for the ISA, explained, "I think there's this alienation between groups on campus." He suggested that with groups sharing similar goals, more could be accomplished if they united.
Okutan explained at the last Oronoka that there was a projector set up to show streets from around the world. This time, they hope to expand on this idea and show more images from an international perspective, mixing in some scenes from foreign films. With this in mind, Kelley mentioned her desire to transform Soma 36.
"With the space available, [we want to] make it something different," to which Okutan added, "Make the Soma you saw on Thursday a completely different place."
"The DJ's are very different from what you would normally hear at Soma," Kelley said, suggesting Oronoka's DJ's plan to avoid the top-40 music that dominates the airwaves.
The University of Maine's radio station, WMEB, and the International Student Association (ISA) are throwing a dance party on the third floor of Orono's Bear Brew Pub, otherwise known as Soma 36. The two groups worked together in the hope of bringing a wide variety of musical tastes to this Friday's Oronoka, an "alternative sort of party," as Alicia Kelley, one of the event's coordinators, described it.
This cooperation between the two groups - WMEB and ISA - stemmed from the recent closure of the Bangor art hub, Ofelia's. WMEB had intended to run their own separate night of music, but, with Ofelia's base of operations and artistic venue closed on short notice when the building was condemned last month, they were forced to rethink their approach. Kelley, a WMEB DJ with a sly smile, pointed out that this was, "a small problem."
Because WMEB was unable to hold their event as scheduled, it was decided that ISA and WMEB would combine their efforts for one outstanding evening.
"This is something you don't see very often," Kelley said, "two [student] organizations working together."
Emin Okutan, a co-ordinator for the ISA, explained, "I think there's this alienation between groups on campus." He suggested that with groups sharing similar goals, more could be accomplished if they united.
Okutan explained at the last Oronoka that there was a projector set up to show streets from around the world. This time, they hope to expand on this idea and show more images from an international perspective, mixing in some scenes from foreign films. With this in mind, Kelley mentioned her desire to transform Soma 36.
"With the space available, [we want to] make it something different," to which Okutan added, "Make the Soma you saw on Thursday a completely different place."
"The DJ's are very different from what you would normally hear at Soma," Kelley said, suggesting Oronoka's DJ's plan to avoid the top-40 music that dominates the airwaves.
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