Last Friday, the sky was clear, and the sun was out. It was a balmy 74 degrees with a gentle breeze coming off the Atlantic.  A welcome respite from the barrage of clouds and rainstorms that students at UNE had been enduring for most of the week. One would think that this would be the perfect time to have a beach party, and APB certainly agreed, dispatching four orientation leaders to Freddy Beach to host the Beach Bash from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm.

They brought a large speaker to play music on, Spikeball nets, frisbees, and other forms of entertainment, and to top it off; a large blue cooler, containing enough freeze pops to feed a small army. Conditions seemed ripe for a refreshing and enjoyable afternoon at the beach, one that many students certainly would enjoy. Unfortunately, this turned out not to be the case.

Attendance was incredibly low, with less than ten people showing up to the event within the first hour, and even less taking advantage of the endless supply of freeze pops. The games went unplayed, the music echoing across a largely empty beach, and Freddy Beach felt more like an isolated desert than idyllic beachfront property.

The orientation leaders present at the Beach Bash were unsure what was responsible for the low attendance rate, though poor communication to the student body was cited as being a possible factor. It’s unfortunate such a nice day and event ended on such a disappointing note. However, we can at least take some solace in the fact that, according to the Beach Bash’s organizers, no freeze pops went to waste.