Students go bonkers for Bongo

It sold out within an hour. It had a ticket queue going around the Union.

But what exactly is the Bongo Ball? Despite all the advertising, many students admit that they don’t have a clue. The ball is an unusual event whose Facebook page boasts a dress code of “Absolutely African versus Beautiful Black-tie.”  Bongo Ball’s proceeds go to the Xavier Project, an organization which helps fund the education of Congolese refugee children in Uganda and Kenya. It was started by Ed Page, a St Andrews student who went to Uganda in 2008 and was inspired to do something to fund the education of the children there. He set up the Bongo Ball as a way to raise money, as well as spread awareness to the students at St Andrews.

One of the most highly publicized events of the season, the Bongo Ball could not help but capture the interest of the student body. However, it came as a shock to many that, when ticket sales opened last Friday, they were sold out within the hour.

Louise Lane, a first year student, arrived at 9:45 before sales began. She waited in line for an hour and a half before getting to the front of the line only to find out that they were out of tickets. “It was really frustrating that we cued for an hour before they told us that they didn’t have enough tickets for everyone…I was not a happy bunny.”

Louise was fortunate enough to get her name taken down and a few days later received an email saying that they had found 18 additional tickets. “They were really good at emailing us straight away. I just feel bad for the people who waited behind me and didn’t get to put their names on the email list.”

Although many students were disappointed, the Bongo Call committee can certainly be proud that their event attracted so much attention. Those fortunate enough to get a ticket are in for what the Facebook event calls “The GREATEST event in the academic calendar.” Get ready to Bongo!