Wells Fargo Complex’s newest attraction, Xfinity Live! dining and entertainment district, hosted West Chester University students at its very first College Night held Thursday, Sept. 6.
Xfinity Live! representatives invited West Chester University students to join them at the center of the sports arena to celebrate the start of another school year alongside other college students in the greater Philadelphia area. Kelly Ratka, a West Chester undergraduate student of communications and journalism, received an invitation from the Xfinity Live! marketing team. She was asked to promote the event as a night dedicated to college students’ well-deserved fun.
Kelly Nicholas, director of the marketing department at Xfinity, informed Ratka that the night would consist of drink price specials at the bar and transportation would be provided for students. For just $5 per person, a bus would pick up students from a convenient location on campus, and return them there at the end of the night.
“We were looking to target schools within an hour of the venue that we felt would have a high attendance rate,” Nicholas explained. She also admitted that it was a risky project; this would be the bar’s first night targeted specifically for college students.
“I didn’t know what exactly the event entailed,” Ratka recalled, “except that it was going to be a night devoted to college students, and that they wanted WCU to be a part of it.”
Using tactics taught by her professors, Ratka was able to notify students beyond her personal social sphere about the event. West Chester Communication Studies professor Meghan L. Peirce had suggested that little effort is required with the use of social media, discussed in her Introduction to Social Media course.
“I made an ‘open to the public’ event on Facebook and sent it to all my friends from West Chester,” says Ratka, “and it just expanded from there.” It turned out that the title of the event alone, College Night at Xfinity Live!, was sufficient to attract the interest of over 100 students here on campus.
“We were completely dependent on our contact student from each school to promote the event for us,” Nicholas commented, “yet the Xfinity marketing team was held responsible for overall success of the night.”
Ratka hesitantly made a request for two buses to meet at the E.O. Bull center parking lot that night. “She was nervous that nobody was going to show up,” undergraduate student in communicative disorders, Ellie Salvitti, said about her roommate. “It was just minutes before the designated meeting time and there were only a handful of people there. When 9:30 rolled around, I looked up the hill towards Rosedale and saw a massive crowd of people all walking down.”
Both buses quickly filled as bouncers from Xfinity approved everyone to be at least 21 years of age, and the group of 90 total students departed. Nicholas expressed her gratitude toward Ratka and the students of WCU not only for producing the highest attendance for any single school, but also for their sophisticated behavior. “We sent a bus to Temple,” Nicholas moped, “and a majority of the people that showed up weren’t even 21!”
West Chester students paraded into the venue together to see smaller groups of people standing separate from one another. WCU students quickly dispersed throughout the venue, which consists of six separate bars that are all interconnected. Within minutes the previous scene of isolated groups was gone and students from all schools were intermixed.
In the days following, students raved about what a great time they had. “I had a safe ride, went someplace new, and got to meet people from other schools!” exclaimed undergraduate student of communications, Alyssa LoCoco.
Even Julie Neerland, a recent transfer student from Millersville, agreed that it was nice to go somewhere outside of West Chester for a change of scenery. Rachel Lewuillis, a student who was unable to attend due to her age, added, “I was hearing about it in all of my classes the following day. I’m so jealous I couldn’t go!”
Xfinity team members have already made contact with Ratka about bringing West Chester out again soon. In fact, they had requested that she bring people again the following Thursday. Ratka refused the offer, but has every intention of going again.
“This was the first college night they had, and Kelly had less than a week to get people together,” Olivia Murray, fifth-year nursing student, explained. “But I think if we wait another few weeks, especially if people continue talking about it, we will have an even larger turnout.”
As of yet, Ratka has not decided on a definite date for when she wants to set up this opportunity for her fellow classmates again. “There will definitely be another trip in October,” she promises, “and I will do my best to advertise more around campus so everyone gets a chance to participate!”
Kelly Ratka is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at KR676071@wcupa.edu.