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“Lights Out”: A Freshman Affair

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Written by Hannah Rosenfeld

I was running late to the “Lights Out” winter formal so I didn’t have time to do my hair. I figured it didn’t matter because the lights would be out. They weren’t. My hair turned out ok; the dance, not so much.

Decorations never make or break an event, but when the decorations make up the ambiance and the mood setters they certainly make an impact. The black lights that earned the dance its “lights out” title had an amazing effect. Girls suddenly found that they didn’t need that trip to the tanning salon to look good in their dresses, and guys wearing classic white tops positively glowed. Unfortunately, both of the black light stands were stationed next to enormous, not to mention loud, speakers.

Maybe in a dark room they could have cast their eerie glow over the sea of dancers, but when competing with the Decathlon Club’s rather bright lighting, the lonely bulbs made hardly a puddle of purple. It is nobody at M-A’s fault that the lights stayed lit; even leadership students directly involved in planning the dance thought they would dim after the sports facility officially closed at nine. For those of us not confident enough in our dancing to bust a move when we know people can see us, getting our money’s worth out of formal required an abnormally high level of courage.

The upperclassmen were, as usual, underrepresented at this year’s winter formal. Most of those who did show up didn’t seem to find their niche on the dance floor. Instead many hung out at the tables around the sides and had more than a few of the incredible brownies and plentiful Shirley Temples. The dance void left by the absentee juniors and seniors quickly filled with more than enough ready and able freshmen. The music, DJed by Wild 94.9, received a warm welcome from the underclassmen, and the general feeling is that Thursday the eleventh was a good night to be a freshman.

Winter formal is the only fundraiser for the next year’s senior week, so by failing to buy tickets to the dance the class of 2011 committed itself to a low budget. However, this year’s profits from formal were much better than last year’s. Nonetheless, sophomores should make sure that they don’t become too cool for formal next year. The dance will be more fun if more people attend and so will your senior week.