Below is the response I received from MIT Conference Services. Given this, I suggest that the Boston Perl Mongers group look for another location for YAPC::NA. It might be more feasible to host the more expensive The Perl Conference at MIT, given more advanced planning.
+ Richard ------- Forwarded Message Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 10:10:51 -0500 To: "Richard J. Barbalace" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: "Cathi D. Levine" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Perl conference inquiry Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" Hi Richard, Thanks for your interest in having your event at MIT. Our web page is under construction. The nature of your conference sounds appropriate, but it would be impossible to meet your financial requirements as listed below. Even with the appropriate funding, June is one of the busiest months on campus with groups booked 1-3 years in advance. Again, thanks for your inquiry. Sincerely, Cathi Levine Manager, MIT Conference Services >Hello. > >I'm looking into the possibility of hosting a conference on the Perl >programming language at MIT. Last Friday, an outside group >(containing several members of the MIT community) contacted SIPB >regarding whether the conference could be hosted at MIT and, if so, >how to go about organizing it; I've taken up the task of finding out >more information for them. Some other MIT groups have since expressed >interest in possibly helping sponsor the conference here, and are also >looking into getting more information. I was hoping that Conference >Services would be helpful to us in determining whether MIT would be a >suitable location for this conference. > >I'm not familiar with the services that are provided by MIT Conference >Services, so I'd also like to get some background on what you do. >Your web page (http://web.mit.edu/conf-serv/www/) says nothing about >what services you provide or how to begin planning a conference, so I >was hoping you can provide or point to some information on that via >email. > >YAPC::NA (Yet Another Perl Conference: North America) is meant to be a >low-cost three-day conference to draw people, especially students, who >would not normally be able to afford attending more expensive >conferences. The conference has been held annually the past several >years in June. The last North American conference at McGill U. in >Toronto drew about 320 participants, and previous conferences at CMU >also drew about 300. Although little planning has been done for the >2002 conference as securing a location seems to be the first priority, >some description of the requirements for the conference are listed at: > http://www.yapc.org/venue-reqs.txt > >As a conference designed to attract students, a primary goal is to >keep the cost low. Previous conferences have charged about $75-100 >per attendee (including meals), and about half of attendees have opted >for dormitory room rentals of about $20 per night. > >Is a conference of this scale at the expected price doable at MIT? If >so, is there someone at your office (or somewhere else) who might be >contacted for further planning? Is there time to reserve facilities, >rooms, etc. for a conference of this scale for late June 2002? If so, >what deadlines for planning would need to be met? Or if not, would >planning for the following conference in June 2003 be possible at this >time? > >I plan to be on campus tomorrow morning (Tuesday), as I am helping >organize MIT's blood drive; I could drop by your office if that would >be helpful in getting information from you. > >Thanks for any guidance you can provide. >+ Richard J. Barbalace > [EMAIL PROTECTED] - -- =========================================== Cathi Di Iulio Levine Manager, Conference Services MIT Conference Services, Events and Information Center Room 7-111 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 617-253-1769 (phone) 617-258-7005 (fax) [EMAIL PROTECTED] =========================================== ------- End of Forwarded Message
