ACTiON!

Midnight Breakfast &

Shaving Cream Fight

"An epic drama of adventure and exploration."

 “Set the Scene”
(Table of Contents)

Midnight Breakfast and Shaving Cream Fight tells the story of four rookie executive board
members with lofty dreams of creating an adventurous social program like no other. Set in 2009
at Rawlings Hall on the University of Florida campus, this epic shares the trials, tribulations, and
success of these four Area Government officers as they embark on their first Residence Hall AG
journey.

“Director’s vision”
Letter from the Director pg. 2

“i’m reaDy For my close-up”

Introduction pg. 3

Cast pg. 4

“opening creDits:
Planning an Oscar Winning Program pg. 5

“action!”
The Event Begins pg. 7

“conFlict anD climax”

Problems Encountered pg. 9

“curtain call”
Analysis and Adaption pg. 10

“The Academy”
Letters of Reference pg. 13

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 “Director’s Vision”
STEVEN SPEILBERG
“I dream for a living”

Rawlings Area Council Broward Area Desk

Housing and Residence Education Gainesville, FL 32612-2100
352-392-2161
352-392-6819 Fax

March 22, 2009

The idea for the shaving cream fight originated back in high school. We were just a
bunch of lazy beach-bums on summer break who decided to have our very own shaving
cream brawl right on Treasure Island beach and then proceed to strut our shaving cream
costumes in view of all the tanning vacationers. Vice President Sheldon Clark and I wanted
to transition this micro-scale idea into the big and audacious hit that it was destined to be at
the University of Florida.
Key programming words were big, awesome, crazy, and unbelievable. We wanted to
really make an impression (and maybe even slightly intimidate) our IRHA and Housing
counterparts, but most of all, we wanted residents to have an awesome time meeting each
other and then associate that with the Rawlings Area Council. In order to do this, we raised
the budget as much as we could stand for one program, and made shaving cream flow like
a river.
Furthermore, we asked ourselves: “what is better than a shaving cream fight?” The
most obvious answer that came: a shaving cream fight on a full stomach. Because, let’s be
realistic, we are in college and none of us can pass up a free meal. So we decided to include
a full midnight breakfast into the package. We wanted to have tables full of all sorts of
breakfast foods: pancakes, eggs, bacon, cereal, bagels, cream cheese, orange juice, fruit juice,
and more. This would be a second incentive in our publicity to bring out residents. If the
idea of a shaving cream fight didn’t get your attention, the midnight breakfast would.
Our recipe was to add the excitement of a shaving cream fight together with the
pleasure of midnight breakfast. An unbeatable duo in which all residents would share a
common desire to come out to enjoy, and in the end, meet each other. The vision was big,
the program was big, and now the stories are big. The shaving cream fight was a great way
for RAC to start the year and really get off on the right foot.

Sincerely,

Mark Werremeyer
Rawlings Area Council President

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 “I’m Ready For My close Up”
INDEPENDACE DAY
Captain Steven Hiller: Didn't I promise you fireworks?

INTRODUCTION

During the summer of 2008, the executive board

members of Rawlings Area Council were searching for a

program that would set the tone for a successful year. To

achieve that goal, the council used their creativity to

establish a first of its kind, exciting, and effective social

program that properly welcomed the new residents of

Rawlings Hall and introduced them to the area government.

The midnight breakfast and shaving cream fight built strong

social connections between residents in the early days of fall weeks of welcome. Half free food,

half epic battle, the program showed residents the excitement of college and the importance of

interacting with new friends. The program also set the stage, as well as high expectations, for

the council’s year to come. Having a strong social program at the beginning of the year was

important for the success of Rawlings hall’s community because strong community relationship

between students living there has been the staple year to year there.

CAST

For four rookie AG actors, the shaving cream

fight became an exciting adventure in serving other

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residents. At the time, the incomplete executive board consisted of only the president, vice

president, treasurer, and business manager, all of whom had no prior IRHA or resident life

experience. However, with a little help and guidance, the four turned the program into a great

success. This required assistance from several students and staff, many of whom no longer lived

in the building.

CAST
(Alphabetical)

Julie Buzgon Volunteer

Sheldon Clark Mr. Vice President

Marianne Grieg Resident Assistant

Alex Kopson The Former Mr. President

Thanh Mai Volunteer

Fabian Marseille Mr. Treasurer

Tom Pham Rawling’s Volunteer

Mark Pomarico Resident Assistant

Kristi Posson Resident Assistant

Brett Scharf Resident Assistant

Phillip Sussman The Business Manager

Laura Villavicencio Resident Assistant

Mark Werremeyer Mr. President

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 “Opening Credits”
ARMAGEDDON
A.J.: Have you ever heard of Evel Knievel?
Andropov: No, I never saw Star Wars.

Planning An Oscar Winning Program

The odyssey begins in Tampa, FL during the summer of 2008. Mr. President, Mark

Werremeyer, began contacting the new executive board of Rawlings Area Council to begin

brainstorming programs for the university’s week of welcome. In particular, the president

wanted to begin the year with a creative, fun, and messy extravaganza that would quickly put

Rawlings on the map. The idea for a traditional midnight breakfast fused to a not so traditional

shaving cream fight came quickly. Once the idea was agreed upon and established, the board

members split up the work and began planning. At this point, the top two executives

established a list of goals for the program:

 Use the event to help sell activity cards to 50% of Rawlings residents in the first 3 days.

 Draw at least 200 participants to the program.

 Bring in students from other areas besides Rawlings.

 Make the area near the service drive look like a snowy field.

Vice President Sheldon Clark immediately began the permitting procedure and helped

convince the university’s Resident Life office that the four rookies meant business. A time, date

and location were selected and, after the permit was obtained, RAC’s date with destiny was set

– On August 19th, at the stroke of midnight, the fight would go down.

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 Treasurer Fabian Marseille began thorough work with the budget, obtaining leftover

account totals from the previous year’s president and calculating the available funds for the

program. To ensure that RAC did not blow the budget on the first program, Fabian designated a

set amount of $300 to be used towards shaving cream and breakfast foods. After all of the

items were purchased, he collected all of the receipts and check copies and filed them neatly

for use in future analysis of the program.

As the team quickly discovered, planning a good shaving cream fight is a logistical

nightmare for a young AG. Having no

previous experience to rely on, the

board pulled heavily from their advisor

and the previous year’s RAC president.

However, the one question on

everyone’s mind – Where do you buy

hundreds of cans of shaving cream

affordably? The answer – buy out every Dollar Store in the city. A manhunt ensued for 200 cans

of Barbasol foam shaving cream. After buying out several stores of their stock, the board began

purchasing the food items necessary for any decent midnight breakfast – pancakes, waffles,

cereal, bacon, milk, orange juice, bagels, and various other breakfast treats.

After the required items were purchased, the new RAC board looked to finalize the

logistics of the fight. To ensure safety, participants would be asked to refrain from aiming for

the eyes of others. All residents would be split into two teams of approximately 100

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participants each and given one can of shaving cream. To allow for easier clean up, all

participants were asked to stay on the grass and refrain from putting the cream on pavement.

“ACTION!”
SHREK
Donkey: ”And in the morning, I’m making Waffles!!.”

Finally, come August 18th, the time had come to complete the adventure, all in one take.

The day began at 12:30 PM during a cast meeting over lunch. Each board member discussed

their concerns and expectations for the day and the final run through of each task was

presented. At the meeting, we listed all of the outside help we would need to smoothly run the

program and called them to

ensure they would attend the

program and assist. Help

included friends, residents,

RA’s, and IRHA exec. At the

conclusion of the meeting,

one last check at the weather

and the looming tropical

storm was conducted and the

board decided it was safe to proceed with the event. With all the plans finalized, the executive

board split into groups and began work. Tables and chairs were brought from neighboring

residence halls into the lobby. Chairs were set in small circles so that students would be

encouraged to eat and talk in groups while the tables were set along the wall to maximize the

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space for people. The make shift volunteer staff was assembled and given duties, from

equipment collecting to cooking to knocking on resident’s doors. The food and drinks were

collected and the cooking began. RAC utilized 3 kitchens to cook 300 pancakes, 100 waffles,

bacon, eggs, and bagels. Cereal, along with milk, orange juice, and punch was set up along with

the food on the tables. Tables were erected out on the lawn, splitting the field into two sides.

Upon these tables, over 200 cans of shaving cream were placed, waiting to cause foamy

devastation.

After hours of preparation and cooking, a small trickle of students began appearing in

the lobby. Soon, however, that trickle became a mighty stream. Hundreds of people lined the

insides of the lobby and crowded lines that extended outside from both doors to the building.

So many students showed up, eating and purchasing activity cards, RAC had to postpone the

fight 30 minutes to adequately check

everyone in. Once all guests had arrived,

eaten, and properly introduced to some

of their new neighbors, the throngs of

students proceeded outside to field. The

participants were split to the two sides

and given one can of shaving cream. After a brief explanation of the rules – Stay in the fight

area, do not aim for the eyes, and do not remove the cans from the field – the countdown

began. Five, Four, Three, Two, One. And at go, with a tropical storm lurking at a safe distance

from shore, 200 students, freshly moved into their new homes, battled under the cloudy sky

and the shine of hundreds of camera flashes. Frothy white foam flew in all directions among the

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shouts of fun. Soon, the entire field looked as if fresh snow had fallen on one small patch of

Florida grass. Students covered in white froth were roaming in all directions and the scene was

of controlled, fun, chaos. After the participants cleaned up and headed back inside, the

volunteers began cleaning the shaving cream from the concrete, collecting spent cans, and

washing and cleaning the lobby.

“Conflict and Climax”

Apollo 13
Jim Lovell: “Houston, we have a problem”

No projects, whether they are in the residence halls or on the silver screen, are ever

completed without problems. The midnight breakfast and shaving cream fight experienced its

fair share of difficulties, but the executive board and their band of volunteers and assistants

battled through and completed their tasks.

Of all the difficulties experienced, none were

bigger and more pressing than Fay, a large and fast

moving tropical storm that developed of the coasts

of Florida mere days before the fight took place.

Much sleep was lost over tracking the storm and

constantly determining whether or not the program would run on schedule. While the

executive board did have a weather plan, it did not encompass a full scale tropical weather

disturbance. However, after close monitoring, long thought into the safety of residents, and a

little luck, the program was allowed to continue as planned.

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 Other difficulties besides the storm had to be overcome as well. The large number of

shaving cream cans required to run the event caused issues when the executive board went to

purchase them. No single store in the city had nearly the correct number of cans in stock at the

correct price, so the board members had to scrounge around every Wal-Mart and dollar store

in the area to come up with the cans. Even after the decision to increase the count by another

50 cans, the board still managed to scour and find the amount required within budget.

During the event, several issues popped up that RAC did not expect. Even though the rules

stated not to aim for the face, participants still got

shaving cream in their eyes and mouth. There was

no clean up station set for those who needed to

wipe down, so one was quickly and crudely erected.

As well, with clouds covering the night sky, lighting

was provided only by the pair or street lights

bordering the service road. There was nothing that could be done about the lighting issue, so

participants had to use less than ideal visibility conditions. Also, no designated area for personal

belongings was set up for participants to place their items for safe keeping. This meant

residents had to choose between carrying their belongings or leaving behind in the open.

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 “Curtain Call”
Porky the Pig
“Tha, tha, tha, That’s all folks”

Analysis and Adaption

In hindsight, the midnight breakfast and shaving cream fight accomplished all of its intended

goals and more. Over 200 people participated in the event, while another 30 viewed the

spectacle from the sidelines. The program won the “Of the month award” from both the on

campus and regional levels. At the conclusion of the event, the board discussed the event in

detail at the following

executive board meeting.

During the week the shaving

cream fight was held, RAC sold

activity cards to over 40% of its

residents and the buzz

generated from the program

helped raise attendance at the

other week of welcome

events. When it came time to fill vacant seats in the council, the reputation garnered through

the shaving cream fight helped convince many students to apply. Also, having such a successful

program right at the start of the year helped build the confidence of the board and gave a good

reputation for quality, successful programming. The residents themselves gave very positive

review at the first general body meeting and spoke in favor of more ambitious projects and

held the executive board responsible for putting on bigger, better events.

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This program can be easily adapted by anyone willing to put forth the effort. Whether for 10 or

1000 participants, the shaving cream fight is fit for all sizes. Any group looking to show their

residents a good time while benefiting their by community by adhering to the following:

1. Begin planning well in advance of the final date.

2. Contact all parties involved and complete paperwork and required materials early.

3. Pre-order the necessary amount of materials with a particular business well in

advance.

4. Market the program heavily to all targeted audiences.

5. Double check safety measures and logistics

6. Gather several volunteers to assist with the event.

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Division of Student Affairs PO Box 112100
Housing and Residence Education Gainesville, FL 32611-2100
352-392-2161
352-392-6819 Fax
houinfo@housing.ufl.edu
March 22, 2009

To Whom it May Concern:

It is with the utmost pleasure that I recommend RAC’s Midnight Breakfast and Shaving Cream
Fight for Program of the Year. As the current adviser to the Rawlings Area Council, I have seen
firsthand the hard work and dedication the Executive Board has put into their positions from day
one. This program was an innovative idea, unlike any other program I have seen at the University of
Florida, and was accomplished solely through their planning and creativity over the summer of
2008.

I was presented with this program idea before officially meeting the Executive Board through email
correspondences with President Mark Werremeyer. When he first told me of their idea to have a
large scale shaving cream fight, I honestly thought they would never be able to pull it off. As their
adviser though, I sat back and let them take control figuring this would be a good learning
experience for the brand new Board. This program would be put on with minimal training in their
positions, and I was scared it would end up disastrous.

Like I expected it was a valuable learning lesson for them. They learned that no matter how
outlandish or crazy an idea is, if they work hard and thoroughly plan they can make anything
happen. Much to my surprise this event was a huge success. Battling a Tropical Storm they were
able to bring out over 200 residents to this program. The Executive Board also used this opportunity
to publicize open positions and sell activity cards to more than 50% of the residents in Rawlings,
quite an impressive feat.

This program set the tone for what the rest of the year would be like. This Executive Board has a
sense of creativity, innovativeness, and camaraderie that is unsurpassed by many area governments.
They have forged strong relationships with not only one another, but also the residents of Rawlings
Hall and this program indicates how they are always “thinking outside of the box.” Their Midnight
Breakfast and Shaving Cream Fight is a program that stands out to all residents as one of the best
and most memorable nights of the year.

Sincerely,

Lindsay Tatreau
Graduate Hall Director and RAC Adviser

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