There are very few places someone can travel to and receive room and board and transportation for $60 – unless that someone is an Oakland University student.

The Student Program Board rolled out Chicago as its winter semester overnight trip. Tickets became available for purchase Friday, March 13 at 9:00 a.m.

“Last year was the first time it was an overnight trip,” said SPB travel coordinator and junior Kerry Zhu.

Zhu said that in the past, students would leave very early in the morning for Chicago and come back very late at night, but after SPB made the trip an overnight occasion, there was little question that students were pleased with this change.

During the fall 2014 semester, SPB planned a trip to New York where students could travel for only $200. Needless to say, tickets were in high demand.

Zhu said that students waited in line from 5:00 p.m. the day before tickets were available for purchase.

“We had enough people in line at 10:30 p.m. that night to call the trip ‘sold out,’” Zhu said, but she couldn’t make a prediction about the ticket-acquisition process for this semester’s Chicago trip.

“It depends on the students and what the trip is worth to them,” Zhu said, adding that for bigger trips, students line up in the patio area outside Bumpers Game Room.

Students spent the night in the basement of the Oakland Center in line last semester to ensure that they were in the right place when the New York trip tickets went on sale, and it was a similar scene this semester for Chicago.

While there were enough people, according to Zhu, to call the New York trip sold out before midnight the night before the official on-sale date, there was a surplus of tickets available for Chicago this year.

Zhu estimated that between the three charter busses scheduled for transportation to Chicago, there were roughly 100 seats available for students, and at approximately 7 a.m. on the morning of Friday, March 13, there were just under half of those 100 spots left.

Although students still waited diligently all night long outside of the CSA ticket window, there was a good chance of securing a ticket the morning of sale, and after sleeping a night in one’s own warm bed.

Regardless of not being able to predict students’ enthusiasm for a particular trip or what kind of priority they will place on being first in line to purchase tickets, SPB does know, however, that student trips are here to stay.

“I’ve been on the [executive] board for three years and involved [with SPB] for four years, and it’s been cool to see how Chicago has grown,” said SPB associate chair Brittany Hall, reiterating student excitement over making Chicago an overnight event.

“All of our trips are diverse and fun, and it’s a great experience for students. Everyone should come check it out if they’re able to,” Zhu said.