Put away the vodka and rum bottles, everybody, there won't be any spiking of the Fall Ball punch this year. And while the ASUA Senate's vote of support for President Ben Graff's decision to cancel next Saturday's formal might break a few hearts, it was absolutely the right thing to do.

Discussion about the dance, which was proposed by Sen. Matt Bailey, dominated Wednesday night's weekly Senate meeting. Whether strongly supporting or opposing the event, talk from senators and members of the audience was almost always passionate. Joining Bailey in the plea to save Fall Ball were four of his fellow senators, while four other senators and both vice presidents agreed with Graff's opinion that the dance was a financial liability for the Senate.

"Every time somebody talks, I change my mind," said Sen. Michele Lee, reflecting on some of the senators' uncertain opinions.

In the end, thankfully, logic won out. Ironically, it was Bailey's own addition to the Fall Ball plan that caused its cancellation. Bailey introduced - and the Senate approved - a plan to "pull the plug" on Fall Ball if 350 tickets had not been sold by last Friday. Bailey said last night that he arrived at that number because it was the point at which the Senate "wouldn't incur a huge debt." Well, as of last Friday, 105 tickets had been sold. At Wednesday's meeting, no one faulted Bailey's enthusiasm for the dance or his dedication to seeing it become a reality - many, in fact, praised him for often staying at his office late to work on the event.

Had the Senate voted against Graff and canceled the "pull the plug" plan, Bailey would have gotten the go-ahead to spend about $5,000 in revenue collected through sponsorships (including non-monetary donations, such as tuxedo rental donations) and an undisclosed amount in revenue taken in from ticket sales. This would have been disastrous.

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