By Andrew Wroblewski
The Barstool Blackout Tour sponsored by Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity drew hundreds of University students last week in an event filled with fancy lighting, loud music, and neon clothes. The event is a fraternity tour created by BarstoolU and Barstool Sports. Since last year, BarstoolU and Barstool Sports have toured around the country visiting various cities and universities, showing them a great time. The parties usually consist of black lights, strobe lights, fog, deejays and lasers.
Preparation for the event took nearly three months and ample effort from many members of Pi Kappa Alpha.
“[We] started planning it with Barstool in early November,” said Connor McBride, the fraternity’s president. “This event has been one of the biggest hits at colleges across the country, so we figured, ‘go big or go home.'”
Luckily for Pi Kappa Alpha, the event had no problem in attracting students, selling over 450 tickets. However, the number of students attending pushed the capacity limits of Hofstra USA, which, according to the University’s Dining Services Web page, can only hold 200 people.
Prior to the event, rumors were swirling that the fraternity had overbooked the event and that Public Safety would not allow students admission even if they had a ticket. Throughout the night, crowds began to get rough while waiting on line outside of Hofstra USA and Public Safety was forced to take action.
“Public Safety was being really rough with people outside while they were waiting to get in,” said Annik Spencer, a sophomore dance and public relations major.
According to Joe Moncada, a junior Spanish and Secondary Education major who also attended the event, some students were denied entry.
“People [were] being taken off the line for being too rowdy,” said Moncada.
Despite the wait time, students did not report any fights in the long line.
“I did not see any altercations between anyone at the event,” said Matt Barry, a sophomore Accounting major. “It seemed to me that everybody there was enjoying themselves.”
Moncada agreed, expressing how the Barstool Blackout was well worth the wait.
“The energy put on by the deejays and the response from the students was unreal,” said Moncada.
Being rush season, the event was essential for potential members to get to know the fraternity.
“We have a lot of interest for Pi Kappa Alpha as a whole now with a lot of kids wanting to join,” said McBride. “[Barstool] helped the fraternity and Greek life by showing the school we do want to give back and be a bigger part of Hofstra.”
However, not everyone who attended was looking to join the fraternity.
“Pi Kappa Alpha obviously did a great job organizing the event, but attending Barstool would have no influence on me in terms of wanting to join a fraternity at Hofstra,” said Barry.
With little confrontations and exposure for the fraternity, there does not seem to be any reason why the University would have a problem hosting another event, similar to Barstool, in the future.
“Barstool is without a doubt the most fun [event] that has come to Hofstra and I would love to see it come back,” said Chris Grenzig, a sophomore General Business major.
