Roller skaters in O’Connell House, October 15. Photograph: J. D. Levine

On September 3, around a conference table in an airy first-floor room in the former cardinal’s residence on the Brighton Campus, the nine women and five men who make up the Nights on the Heights board were tossing around program ideas for the coming academic year.

“If it snows, we can do a snowman-making competition,” said one student.

“I ran a mechanical bull on Upper last year, and people loved it,” said another.

“We can rent a ferris wheel.”

“What about skydiving?”

Nights on the Heights (NOTH) is a student-run initiative that organizes programming from 9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., Thursday through Saturday. Administered by the Student Programming Office since 2008, it was started in 2005 to provide alcohol-free social opportunities for undergraduates. “One way we can change the campus environment,” says Patrick Rombalski, vice president for student affairs, is to offer activities that are “attractive compared to events with alcohol.” It’s “a responsibility,” he says, that calls for “creativity, guessing ‘right,’ and patience.” Last year, NOTH sponsored 154 events—from miniature golf to laser tag—all free of charge. Total attendance was 15,526.

“People love free things they can bring home, and they love food,” says Sharon Blumenstock of the Student Programming Office, by way of explaining many of the program’s successes. Regular cupcake topping nights are popular, and T-shirt decorating last October 1, the night before the Eagles’ home football game against Notre Dame, attracted more than 100 students.

Some NOTH activities have turned into minor traditions. The Thursday night trivia contest at Corcoran Commons routinely draws 50 to 75 participants in teams of up to six students, vying for the right answers to questions such as: “Libya is the only country in the world whose flag is a single solid color, one of the traditional colors of Islam. What color is it?” (Answer: Green.)

On Friday and Saturday nights, O’Connell House is the scene of a changing mix of events—including roller skating (more than 150 students rumbled and wobbled through the halls wearing loaner skates on October 15), basketball tournaments on nearby courts, and crafts (teddy bear–stuffing and knitting lessons, with needles, yarn, and patterns provided).

The Chocolate Bar in McElroy Commons is open on Thursdays for scheduled and open-mike performances by student musicians and comedians as well as outside artists. Last March, NOTH and UGBC co-sponsored a concert by the mash-up artist Girl Talk that drew 1,400 students to the Plex. In April, a show with singer Ryan Cabrera filled Robsham Theater.

NOTH plans to increase the number of on-campus events this year, and the group has added a new goal: off-campus programs. Some ideas were proposed at the September 3 session—a trip to the New England Aquarium, ice-skating on Boston Common, bowling. So far, excursions have been planned to The Nutcracker at the Boston Opera House in December and a Bruins game in February.

On October 28, Andrew Oddo ’11, an officer in the all-student Music Guild, a sometime cosponsor with NOTH, was in the Chocolate Bar setting up for the first open mike night of the year. It was 8:30 p.m. At a table, a young man typed on a laptop amid notepads and textbooks. Just before 9, more than 60 students appeared, jockeying for seats. Five acts were scheduled, but as Oddo told the crowd, the night would run until “whenever the music stops.” Unscheduled acts were invited to step up, and they did—a four-piece all-male band of sophomores called the American Think Police played original songs; and a cluster of young men with crumpled papers who billed themselves as the Three Desperados took turns reading poetry that they’d written together.

Ryan Cahalane, a soft-spoken freshman from Connecticut with a crew cut and a plaid button-down, was slated to sing backup for Amy Allen ’14 and his roommate, guitarist Mike LaTorre ’14. “I’m a little nervous, but this is what college is for,” said Cahalane. Later, he broke into a freestyle rap in the middle of “Honey,” a ballad by Allen. The audience cheered.

Read more by Tim Czerwienski