MBU News
Night of Elegance
November 15, 2007
By Karen Kratzer
On Thursday, Nov. 8, MBU’s lovely little café was transformed into a five-star restaurant with live entertainment, dim lighting and the ever-popular chocolate fountain.
“Night of Elegance means ‘as close to five star-quality as is possible at a University,’” said senior John Shaw, who has been a server for the event for the past two years due to his job as a resident assistant.
Night of Elegance is a “change of pace from normal dinner routine. They get good food served to them by the resident life staff and other student volunteers, so our hope is that this is a night that they can relax, enjoy music and a restaurant-like cafeteria and hang out with other students,” said Jon Hessel, resident director.
This event has been a running tradition here at MBU for at least five years and was started by Krista and Paul Huse primarily for dorm students, but the invitation has been stretched to commuters, faculty and staff, as well.
In years past, it has cost commuters, faculty and staff eight dollars to participate in the event. However, with the help of Resident Life and Student Activities, it was possible for everyone to attend this year. Lara Robey approached Hessel in the summer with the idea of making Night of Elegance a part of Homecoming’s activities and offering to pay for the faculty, staff and commuters, making it free for everyone.
Approximately 180 students participated in this year’s event, and 76 of them were commuters. “NE (Night of Elegance) definitely grew this year because it was open to everyone. Typically NE has about half to three-quarters of the resident students in attendance, but sometimes that number is lower because of athletic events and concerts. With the success of NE this semester, we hope to continue to be able to include everyone in future events, budgeting permitting,” said Hessel.
This year’s Night of Elegance was put together by Elyssia Rouggly. She coordinated everything from the theme to the menu options. While there were things that remained a constant, like the service from the Resident Life staff to the good food, a couple new additions made this year stand out such as commuters being included, the live music and the chocolate fountains.
“I enjoy Night of Elegance mostly because of the good food but also because of the atmosphere. There is always music and good service,” said Shaw.
Sophomore, Kyle Wohlschlaeger said, “It means a lot to have a great dinner put in front of you. It kinda makes you feel like you are at home.”
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