More than 1,000 students filled out A&O Productions’ 2005 survey that asked them to voice their opinions about the quality of the group’s events, A&O board members said.

The survey, which was released electronically Wednesday, allows students to give A&O input that will help determine what type of future events it will sponsor.

Students responded to a variety of questions, including their favorite types of music and preferred campus locations to attend to watch a speaker.

“We don’t really have many venues on campus, but if we were to have an event on campus, we want to know where students would prefer to go,” said Sarah Purdy, an Education senior and A&O director of campus relations.

As of Monday, 1,008 students had filled out the survey, Purdy said.

“At Northwestern, getting (1,008) students to participate is quite a lot,” she added. “We’re now getting a good idea of what events students want.”

Students who complete the survey also will be able to enter a prize drawing. One student will win free tickets to all future A&O events held this year. Three students will win free tickets to one A&O event.

“(The prizes) are just ways to get people to participate,” said A&O Chairman Brian Bockrath, a McCormick senior. “We really do value the feedback, and this is a way to show them.”

Winners will be selected randomly and notified through e-mail in mid-February, Bockrath said.

A&O members said they were originally hoping to get at least 500 students to take the survey.

But now that they have surpassed their goal in less than a week, they now are deciding when to take down the survey.

It likely will be taken down sometime next week.

“I’m actually surprised that we have gotten so many responses so quickly, but that just reflects how interested students are in programming for events,” Purdy said.

“We’d like to keep it for longer, but the deal is that you have to hire survey companies to do the report, and if you exceed a certain number, then you have to pay extra.”

Many students who took the survey said they are glad A&O is willing to take students’ opinions into consideration.

“(The survey) was more useful than practically every other survey that’s posted on HereandNow because it is something that can actually get done,” Weinberg sophomore Josiah Jenkins said.

The survey can be found online at groups.northwestern.edu/aoproductions or at www.hereandnow.northwestern.edu.

Reach Allan Madrid at [email protected].