Dancing the Night Away
Students have a ball at the University’s annual semi-formal

By Nicole Southern

The dance floor began to get crowded as the disc jockey played the party must-have “Cotton-Eyed Joe.” As students and teachers alike stood up to do one of the country’s favorite line dances, the spirit of Rider began to shine through. Smiles were on the faces of everyone in attendance, and all of the stress from the previous week seemed to slowly fade away.

This year’s University Ball was a great success and came together through the hard work of a few dedicated individuals, according to graduate student Kristin McGowan, who was part of the University Ball committee. However, the success did not come overnight. A lot of work was put into preparing for the big event.

“We started with a committee of about five to eight people and our first meeting was back in October,” she said. “We met every other week until the end of the fall semester and then once we got back from winter break we met every week straight up to the event.”

After deciding on the perfect theme, the team got to work with making preparations.
“Melissa Vidam came in with the theme of black and white. She proposed the idea to the committee and everyone loved it,” said McGowan. “From there we split into groups and each person took on a part of the ball.”

No part of the planning was overlooked, and professors also got involved in making the event extra-special for those attending.

“Dr. Roberta Sethi helped with the DJ for the night and Dr. Drew Procaccino helped with making the fliers and getting us larger ones to put in high traffic areas,” said McGowan.
The main goal this year was to have a large turnout at the event, according to McGowan.
“My goal was just to beat the past few years’ numbers,” she said. “To me, the turnout was great.”

In fact, they had no problem selling enough tickets to beat last year’s numbers. According to McGowan, they sold enough tickets to boast the highest attendance of any University Ball so far.

“About 240 to 250 people attended,” she said.

Making the room look nice for the ball was not an easy task. It took a lot of work and a lot of creativity, McGowan said.

“We were in the Cavalla Room until 2 a.m. the night before the event, and again from noon to 4 p.m. on the day of the event,” she said.

But all the hard work and long hours paid off, said McGowan. The room turned out spectacularly and created just the kind of atmosphere the committee was hoping for.

“It is not very easy to transform the Cavalla Room into something else,” she said. “But I think with the whole committee helping, we did a great job of setting the mood for the night.”

All the hard work did not go unnoticed. Many students who attended the event were captivated by the room’s unusual elegance.

“The room looked beautiful,” said junior Rachel Hamlen. “The fireplaces were nice and added an interesting touch. They added to the dance’s charm.”

Many of those in attendance were pleased with the final product. Some felt that the event went far beyond their expectations.

“It was the best dance I’ve ever been to,” said junior Tara Maerling. “It was better than my proms.”

As the night neared its end, the crowd lingered, trying to hold on to one last rendezvous with the dance floor. Their night without a care dwindled away, and returning to the typical college lifestyle would ensue the following morning.

“The event was a great success,” said McGowan. “Come the end of the night we had to tell people it was over, and it was time to go home.”