Cardinals fountain runs dry
Significantly fewer people than usual attended the recent Cardinals' Cocktails. The event, held in the Town Hall last Wednesday by the Christ Church drinking society, was criticised by many guests as lacking in atmosphere.
However, the Cardinal's ex-President, Will Sampson, told the OxStu that the night was a success and that the drop in numbers was intentional. He explained that the popularity of previous events led to overcrowding, but last week's was relaxed and more enjoyable for organisers and guests. The Cardinals want it to become a more upmarket occasion, claiming that less crowding reflects this.
There was little publicity for the Cocktails and invites were received just days before. According to Sampson, this was due to efforts going into the Internet site and expansion outside of Oxford instead.
Some students chose to decline their invitations, after being disappointed by the previous event. Matt Southward of Lincoln College said: "I had a reasonable time there last term, but didn't enjoy queuing for ages to get a drink."
The decline in attendance could also be explained by the fact that there were several other drinking societies across the university holding similar cocktail events on the same night.
There have been rumours circulating that the Cardinals had to personally cover huge financial losses, due to unexpectedly low ticket sales. Sampson denied these. He said that the money raised by the prior event provided enough capital to fund this one.
When asked if any feedback had been received, Sampson answered that those in attendance would be unlikely to remember much of the night. However, the majority to whom the OxStu spoke expressed a negative opinion. Finalist Rhodri Thomas said: "It lacked atmosphere. There were so few people there that it should have been held in Corpus Christi's front quad!" A third year Classicist was surprised to see jugs of virtually neat alcohol being carried around at the end of the night, in stark contrast to last term when the drinks ran out completely.
The tickets, costing £8 each, entitled guests to unlimited alcohol all night. Events such as this have recently come under fire from University authorities. The Cardinals conceded that this will probably have an affect upon them in the future, although they would try to find a way around it.
The next Cardinals' Cocktails, in Trinity term, is being billed as the last big night out before exams start. Tickets can be obtained by contacting Will Sampson at Christ Church.
14th Feb 2002