Sept. 25, the Class of 2024 put on Formal Jay, an annual dance that the student body hasn’t gotten to experience since fall 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The dance’s theme was “Out of This World,” and it delivered on that promise. Everyone had glow sticks and the KAV was decorated with space-themed backdrops and props. Balloons filled with glow sticks were scattered over the floor as everyone danced the night away. 

Attendees loved the theme. 

“I thought the theme was fun. I’ve never been to an outer space-themed event before,” senior Madi DeLuca said. 

“I really liked the outer space theme,” junior Devynn Napp-Barker said. “I really like outer space, and I think [Student Senate] did it really well with all of the balloons, glow sticks and the backdrop.” 

The Class of 2024 Student Senate met over the summer to discuss possible themes. According to President Maddi Holmberg, outer space and glow-in-the-dark were two of the top themes discussed. 

“Our advisor Jenn [Azevedo] actually suggested, ‘Why don’t you just combine them?’ So that’s what we did,” Holmberg said. 

Everyone in attendance seemed to love the dance. Blue Jays wore their very best, and they danced and sang along to a great Spotify playlist, some parts of which were requested by the student body. Group favorites, like “Cotton Eye Joe” and the “Cupid Shuffle” got everyone together and having a good time. 

For most of the student body, the dance was just one night, but for the Class of 2024 Student Senate members, it was a lot more than that. Catering, location, set-up, lights, music and more all had to be considered in planning the event. 

“There were a lot of different factors that all needed to go into one thing at one time,” Secretary Karlie Fromm said. 

The planning was even more stressful as this was an event that hadn’t happened since before the pandemic. 

“Overall, I think it was really difficult at the beginning when we were first getting a jump start on it because we had never planned anything like this before,” Holmberg said. 

“Thankfully, the Class of 2022 was able to provide us with some information about how they did theirs,” Fromm said. 

The hard work paid off, and this really showed when ticket sales started. 

“We sold out of tickets, which I personally was not expecting,” Fromm said. 

“The first week we were out there at the tables selling tickets, we only sold around 50 tickets. The week of [the dance], the rest of them were sold,” Holmberg said. “I thought it was really awesome that we were able to sell over 100 tickets in three days.” 

Whether they came for the outfits, the music or the dancing, Blue Jays seemed to enjoy this fun night of freedom. 

“It was nice to be able to get out after being locked up for two years,” DeLuca said, referencing the lack of group events during the pandemic. 

“I’m glad I was able to let loose,” Napp-Barker said. 

Despite all the stress involved in the planning, the dance was truly an out-of-this-world event.