It was a Friday night last semester, and Jenne Voss and her friends had no money and no car but wanted something exciting to do.

So Voss (sophomore-biology) and friends decided to go to The Asylum and check out a new band. They've been going back regularly ever since.

"It was good and the fact that it was free was even better," Voss said.

The Asylum is an on-campus nightclub which sponsors various shows during the semester. While it is not an official Undergraduate Student Government club, it is funded by the University administration because it is non-alcoholic, said Asylum President Jackie Davie (sophomore-physics).

But The Asylum is more than simply a non-alcoholic night club in the HUB Ballroom. It is one of the few places in State College where people can go to see alternative bands and other types of shows. The only places alternative bands usually play are the Veteran's of Foreign Wars post, 139 N. Barnard St., or The Asylum, Davie said. The bars have some alternative shows, she added, "But all are usually over 21 so that leaves out a lot of people."

The Asylum attracts a mixed group of people, Davie said, adding that it all depends on the show.

"(Asylum attracts) townies and people from college. The crowd varies from week to week but we get a lot of regulars," she said.

The Asylum draws a "pretty decent-size crowd" for its shows, Davie said. More than 500 people attended the recent Battle of the Bands, she added.

Even though The Asylum tries do all types of shows, its big draw comes from the alternative crowd, Davie said. "We have a strong pulling from the alternative crowd and people who just like the music or want to see a good show."

The Asylum tries to stick with "the kind of music the crowds want to hear," said Davie, adding that the group also tries to get a variety of shows. "We like to try to do different things so we don't get pigeonholed into doing the same shows all the time."

"We are trying to do something different because people are going to associate Asylum with alternative," said Molly Freeland, vice president of publicity for The Asylum. Freeland (sophomore-political science) mentioned The Asylum's last show with hypnotist Ramelle MaCoy as an example of "something different."

Davie said the group brought in a couple of blues shows this semester and sponsors jazz occasionally to get some variety.

The Asylum has been trying to get some big-name bands even though it doesn't have the space, Davie said.

"The HUB Ballroom is too small for us to bring in a large-name band," she said. "We tried to get Live and Fugazi but things fell through. And we're going to look into getting They Might Be Giants for next semester."

The Asylum is made up of a committee of 12 members, said Tara Cunningham, treasurer of The Asylum. She and a friend saw an ad in The Daily Collegian for The Asylum and decided to get involved. Cunningham (sophomore-business logistics) said the group needed people to help out so "they were automatically given postions."