On Saturday, Aug. 16, UM students crowded packed venues, with some pushing and shoving in attempts to get inside. An event at Revenge night club saw hundreds of students who had purchased tickets turned away at the door.
Tickets ranged from $20 to $80 on the day of the event. Some students spent upward of $100 that night—only to be denied entry.
Freshman Samantha Williams, who attended the event Saturday night, said she was “scammed” out of approximately $60.
According to Williams, she and a group of students arrived at Revenge about 30 minutes before the doors were scheduled to open.
“We were waiting for almost two hours, and they didn’t let a single person in,” she said.
The promotion company Miami Welcome Week advertised the event on Linkstub, promising to kick off the semester with‘wild night to remember.’
Welcome Week party Instagram accounts continue to appear on freshmen’s feeds, promoting events at the same venues. Some students have been discouraged from attending due to the scams but many still go—making it unlikely that these accounts will disappear anytime soon.
As a new application cycle begins for high school seniors, “UMiami Class of 2030” accounts have already started appearing on social media, raising concerns that first year students could be targeted by the same scams during the upcoming welcome week.