By Brigid Burke, Guest Writer
The Office of Student Involvement (OSI) hosted Xavier’s first-ever Fall Formal this past Saturday.
This formal was intended as a fun weekend activity for students right on campus. The dance was held in the Cintas Center Banquet Room from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., providing students with the opportunity to dance, take photos, enjoy refreshments and hang out with friends.
“I do like having at least one or two dances per year, it’s just kind of a fun environment. The lighting was good. I kind of liked the dark, but not completely dark vibe,” sophomore English and computer science major Emily Conneely said.
Upon entering, students checked in and had the opportunity to grab glow sticks, light-up glasses and headbands. These items lit up the dark banquet room and were also used by students as props at the photo booth. The glow sticks specifically were a popular choice. Music was already playing as people entered, encouraging dancing and adding to the homecoming-like environment.
“My favorite part was probably the DJ transitions. Those were really good. I had fun with ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ and the ‘Cupid Shuffle.’ Both were good choices that really got the students energized. The DJ did a good job with transitioning the songs and kind of feeling the vibe,” Conneely said.
“I thought overall, for it being its first year, I was very shockingly surprised with how nice it seemed. I thought OSI did a really good job setting it up. I think attendance was honestly pretty solid too. The biggest hit song of the night was the ‘Cupid Shuffle,’ which is kind of different from what I’ve been doing, but it’s always fun to do different events and meet students that I didn’t know before,” junior marketing and business analytics double major Josh Baker said.
Baker, along with sophomore engineering physics major Ganza Kim, oversaw music for the night. Songs such as “Cupid Shuffle,” “Y.M.C.A.” and “Cotton Eye Joe” drew students to the dance floor, as they were well known among the students in attendance. A conga line also formed later into the formal as students spent more time dancing.
The food was served buffet-style, with some of the options being fruit and vegetable platters, mini grilled cheese, chicken skewers and cheese cubes. For beverages, water and lemonade were available in addition to an assortment of soft drinks. A cash bar was open for students wanting to purchase alcoholic drinks.
The OSI EngageXU event description encouraged to “dress to impress,” wearing both long and short homecoming style dresses or button-down shirts and full suits. The formal provided an opportunity for dressing up and wearing formal attire, allowing students to show off their personal style.
As more people entered the banquet room, the photo booth became busy, with attendees waiting in line to take pictures with their friends. Props were available, such as feather boas, sunglasses and hats, providing options for dressing up and accessorizing.
Xavier hosted its first fall formal in the Cintas Center.
Once accessories were chosen, four photos were taken and prints of the pictures were available in the moment. The photo booth was popular among attendees, with multiple noting it as one of their favorite parts of the evening.
“I really liked getting to do the photo area and take pictures in fun poses with my friends,” first-year mathematics major Jackie Griggs said.
“I like that they had a photo booth, that was fun,” Conneely said.
Going forward, there is potential for OSI to hold more events like the Fall Formal in the future.
“I do think the attendance was good. It was better than what I expected. Just based on feedback I’ve been hearing from other people, I feel like the amount of people they had was better than I would have hoped for this particular event, but I would hope to see more people in the future,” Conneely said.
The Fall Formal was a new opportunity for Xavier students this year, providing a night of eating food, dancing, dressing up and taking photos.