Regimental Ball features Sullivan as guest speaker

By Frankie Collyer
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

The annual Norwich University Regimental Ball was held Oct. 20, in Plumley Armory on the Northfield campus. According to ball planners, it was a surprising success.

Aezed Raza, 24, a senior computer science major and Regimental S-5 Activities Major from Portola Valley, Ca., was responsible for the planning of this year’s ball.

According to Raza, he and his staff began the year holding about one meeting a week until the last two weeks prior to the ball, when he began holding three or more meetings a day with “everyone from the S-5 staff to the Cadet Colonel and General Sullivan, the guest speaker.”

According to Raza, money was a major issue in the planning of this year’s ball.

“The ball cost about $16,000,” Raza said. “We got $3,000 from the Commandant’s Office, and the rest we made on ticket sales.”

According to Colonel Michael McKean, the Norwich University vice president for student affairs, the money spent on the ball is set aside from student tuition each year.

According to Raza, this year's ticket sales went better than in the past. The S-5 sold almost 800 tickets, an increase from last year, when ticket sales barely exceeded 600, and the activities office and the commandant’s office had to make up the difference in funds.

“I think the reason that we sold so many this year was because I was a loud-mouth,” said Lucas Tyvrdik, 21, senior business major from Conn. “I stopped everyone and constantly badgered them to buy tickets.”

The unexpected increase in ticket sales also meant an unexpected increase in attendance at the ball, according to Raza. Many arriving at the ball found themselves without seats at first.

“This year, we sold more tickets than we thought we would, and usually each year people will buy tickets and not show up,” Raza said. “So, we took down several tables in anticipation of that.”

As it turned out, more people ended up showing up, and freshmen gave up their seats to the upperclassmen, who would have been left standing, explained Raza.

Hank Strashnick, general manager of Sodexho, from Northfield, Vt., explained that Sodexho had to set up an additional 70 seats after the ball began.

“We had to go over to Milano Ballroom, where they had the senior social, and grab some extra seats,” Strashnick said. “Once we got everything, it only took about five or 10 minutes to get everything set up.”

Lieutenant Colonel William Passalacqua, class of 1988 and director of operations for the Leadership Development Program, complimented both the freshmen class for being so understanding and the cadet chain-of-command for helping out.

“Things were a little slow in the beginning, because we had the Drill Team do an arc of swords for every one of the seniors and their dates during the senior introduction, which is something that we didn’t have when I was a cadet,” said Passalacqua.

Another last minute change in the ball was the guest speaker. Originally, the Sergeant Major of the Army, Sergeant Major Tilley, was scheduled, according to Raza, but, due to the events of Sept. 11, he was unable to attend.

A stroke of good luck helped resolve the situation for the regiment, according to regimental commander Scott McKay, a 21-year-old senior chemistry major from LaPlata, Md.

“One day, President Schneider told me that the day of the ball the board of trustees would be visiting,” McKay said. “He asked me if I wanted him to ask General Sullivan to be the guest speaker, since Sergeant Major Tilley couldn’t make it.”

General Sullivan accepted the invitation to speak and, along with several other members of the board, he attended the ball.

Passalacqua commented that the manners displayed by the Corps of Cadets were excellent and that during General Sullivan’s speech “you could hear a pin drop.” Passalacqua went on to state that in the past, unfortunately, the Corps has not always been so polite.

“The etiquette, courtesy, and respect of the students towards the guest speaker and the trustees was tremendous,” McKean said. “They gave General Sullivan a standing ovation. All of the trustees were attended to by cadets of all ranks.”

McKean explained that all of the trustees and their dates told him that they were “stunned” with the courtesy of the students. McKean said he thought that everyone seemed to realize that these are important people to the “now and to the future of Norwich.”

Also in attendance this year were five cadets from the Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership (VWIL), America’s only entirely female Cadet Corps. Erin Singman, 21, a senior sociology major and VWIL Cadet First Captain (Corps Commander) from Fairfax, Va., is a long time friend of Col McKay and was invited to this year’s ball.

“The ball was fantastic!” Singman said. “We were very impressed with your Corps; the cadets were very approachable and took time out to introduce themselves and ask us questions.”

In a new twist this year, the dance floor was opened by members of the Mountain Cold Weather Rescue Team.

“We were tasked out by Col. McKay to come up with some kind of rappelling or mountaineering demonstration to open the ball,” said John Nestor, 21, senior business major and company commander of the Rescue Team from Midfield, Oh.

The Rescue Team opened the dance floor by rappelling upside down from the ceiling.

According to Strashnick, in the nine years he has worked here this is the largest crowd he has ever seen attend a ball and actually stay till the very end, which is a good indicator that people were having a good time.

“Nearly the whole Regiment attended the ball,” McKean said. “I find it a very healthy thing when the whole Regiment wants to show up and participate in events.”

Passalacqua said that, despite the seating problem, everything went well. and the ball was a “great affair.”

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