Ultra Violet Live is starting a new scoring method this year, according to the Inter-Residence Hall Council. The new rules state that winning a preliminary no longer guarantees a spot on the UVL final lineup.
All UVL preliminary scoring is now standardized with a 50-point rubric based on originality, personality, stage presence and overall performance. All of the preliminary contestants will be compared to each other, and the 15 highest scores will be selected for UVL.
Regardless of contestants’ place in their preliminaries, they could be beat by a competitor from a different preliminary.
Olivia Baackes, president of IRHC, said the new change resulted from complaints the council has received over the years.
“The biggest complaint we had last year was that the competition was just way too long, [the Polytechnic Institute of NYU],” Baackes said. “Since we added Poly and commuters and somebody from NYU Abu Dhabi is coming, we figured it was only fair…to shorten the show this year.”
She added that it also raises the stakes for the competitions.
But Ted Raymer, Gallatin sophomore and president of Greenwich Hotel residence hall, said the changes are unfair to competitors.
“I think it’s unfair of NYU to ask people to commit so much of their time and energy into something then deprive them of the chance they normally get to be in the final competition. But it’s expensive, so it makes sense that they’d restrict it like that,” Raymer said.
Neha Sundaram, a Stern senior and president of Commuter Students Council, agreed.
Last year, UVL began including the commuter and off-campus students, and CSC created Commuters Got Talent not only to give these students an opportunity to showcase their talents but also to pick their representative for the university-wide competition.
“I wasn’t aware of the change until the day of the show so we had actually advertised for Commuters Got Talent under the premise that the first-place winner would go onto UVL,” Sundaram said. “I guess next year, we will have to make sure that contestants know well in advance that they are not guaranteed to go on.”
But Sanjana Sinha, a CAS freshman and president of Weinstein residence hall, said the new system is fair.
“I know it might seem unfair to the contestants who won and don’t get a chance to compete in the final, but in terms of keeping the show appealing to the audience, I think it’s a fair idea,” Sin ha said. “It’s not like the scoring is going to vary that much. In terms of judging I think it’s every even.”
“I think people are equally willing to participate, equally willing to compete. If it will affect it in any case, I think it will make more people want to compete because it makes it so much more competitive,” she added.
All of the residence halls will have their preliminaries by end of the semester, and UVL is scheduled to take place February 2013.
A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Nov. 26 print edition. Additional reporting by Kristina Bogos and Kevin Burns. Tatiana Baez is a deputy university editor. Email them at [email protected].