As the season of sunshine, flowers and baseball begins, St. Thomas Activities and Recreation is sponsoring an event to remind students spring is on its way.
The St. Thomas spring dance will be held from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday, April 16, in the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex field house.
“[We’re] really excited about the dance,” said senior Wendy Lor, a STAR programming intern.
“We hope people come out and enjoy themselves, too.”
Dance tickets
The dance is the first spring dance on campus since 2008. STAR members said this year’s dance will be somewhat different from previous years, while still keeping some old traditions. One difference is that students must get tickets online.
Tickets will be available from 8 a.m. Monday, April 11, until they are sold out. To get tickets to the event, students must register with stthomas.universitytickets.com.
“Now, if a student is student teaching during the semester, or is not on campus 24/7, they can go on to the website whenever they’re available and pick up a ticket, print it and come to the dance,” said Matthew Gustafson, STAR adviser.
Tickets to the event are free to all St. Thomas students and guest passes will cost $8. Each student is allowed one guest, but guest tickets are limited.
Gustafson said printed tickets will contain bar codes that must be scanned to enter the dance. Students may also scan out and scan back in if they wish to return to the dance at a later time. Each bar code will only scan once per ticket and cannot be duplicated.
Dance activities
This year there will be two disc jockeys at the dance instead of one. DJ Josh Taylor will play the first half of the event, from 9 to 11 p.m., and DJ Joseph ONE will play the second half from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.
“We are just trying to keep it new and fun and think of different things to do,” said sophomore Nneka Njoku, a STAR programming intern. “So the DJs might be a little different from homecoming, but still really, really good.”
Students attending the dance can participate in a paparazzi-themed photo portion, where students can strut their stuff on the “blue” carpet in front of two different camera stations. Students can then select photos and pick them up after the dance or have them emailed to their student account.
“Last time we did a photo booth, and those were really great, but this time they can take them with them and have more than one photo,” Lor said.
About 2,000 students attended the homecoming dance in October, and STAR is hoping for another big turnout for the spring dance.
“It’s one of those fun things you get to do with all your friends before the end of the year,” Lor said.
Freshman Kyle Kneepkens said he had a great time at the homecoming dance and is excited for the spring dance. Sophomore Emily Pohl said she will also attend the spring dance.
“I am going to the spring dance for my friend,” she said. “She really wants to go. It is an excuse for her to get dressed up and look good for all the St. Thomas men.”
Dan Fastner can be reached at fast2894@stthomas.edu.