After about 1,500 students attended the University Student Union’s Matador Nights April 28, the USU decided to make additional plans to organize two nights Fall 2006.

Matador Nights was a first-time experimental event brought to campus this semester, partly done to give CSUN students a safe environment to party and increase school spirit, said Debra Hammond, USU director.

Matador Nights will also be held because the USU made a commitment to increase the level of programming for students after it finishes building the renovated USU, and Matador Nights was one of its ventures, Hammond said.

“For the next semester we should do more marketing and also give more free food,” said Felicia Carter-Aaron, former chair of the Union Program Council. “We have to get students involved way ahead of the event.”

Carter-Aaron also said 400 students responded to a survey prior to the event to determine what activities should be at the event and whether or not a late-night event should take place at CSUN. She said the students chose all the activities at Matador Nights event.

“According to last year’s results, we thought to do a late night program. Therefore, we went to (Salt) Lake City in Utah (in September 2005), where the Association of College Union International (is and) saw 6,000 students dancing,” she said. “It really inspired me.”

“We know that next year we are going to be even bigger because it will be easier to get sponsorship,” Carter-Aaron said.

Carole Desgroppes-Brown, program coordinator of training developments and major events of the USU, said she wants to provide alternative ways to party for CSUN students.

“In the beginning I thought we would get maybe 500 to 600 students to attend that night,” Desgroppes-Brown said.

Hammond supported the event, and brought some programming from the University of Utah to CSUN.

Student Affairs financed the event, Desgroppes-Brown said.

“Ten of 200 clubs on campus participated in the Matador … Nights,” she said. “For next year we can do the same activities and some different ones perhaps in a large space at the Satellite Student Union or at the main Student Union.”

Carter-Aaron said after returning from the Utah event, USU decided to create similar event at CSUN for students.

“When we came back from the conference we got together and we started to have a meeting every week to find out what we could at CSUN.”

She said to create such a program is a long process. She said the USU also plans to hold two Matador Nights events in Spring 2007.

Cyro Duarte can be reached at cyroduarte@yahoo.com.