Oversized denim jackets, neon leggings, and bright headbands were sported as students danced the night away on Dec. 1. Despite the many events occurring on campus that night, the dance was seen as a success and an escape from incoming finals.
Hosted by Seasider Sports and Activities, the ‘80s themed dance featured a giant bouncy house and shave ice. Pizza and chicken wings were also served as refreshments to those who attended the event.
Student supervisor for Seasider Sports and Activities, Jake Bateman, a junior from Washington majoring in political science, said the best part of the night was the bouncy house. “It’s cool to see their faces light up when they didn’t know.”
Bateman explained that when they were swiping students in at the Cannon Activities Center, they would ask them to sign a waiver if they wanted to go inside the bouncy house to which the students exclaimed, “There’s a bouncy house?”
Siska Napthalina, a senior from Indonesia studying finance, said she was attracted to the dance’s theme. She shared that she loved the bouncy house despite only being able to go once because of the long line. She also appreciated that the event was organized because “it’s the week before finals and we need to de-stress.”
The theme of the dance revolved around the ‘80s. However, the music was not all from that time era. The DJ for the event also played songs from the early 2000s and crowd favorites from more recent years.
Aaron Requilman, the DJ for the event, said that the way he chose the songs for the dance came from his past experiences, which took a lot of trial and error because he had to find out what worked for everyone.
“Tonight, it was supposed to be an ‘80s theme night, and I was supposed to play more a lot more ‘80s music, but that didn’t happen because… it’s my job to make sure that everybody gets onto the dance floor, whatever way possible,” said Requilman.
On the same night, other events were happening on campus and in the Polynesian Cultural Center that clashed with the time of the dance. James Constantino, a junior from California studying biology, said that the number of people that showed up to the event surprised him.
Bateman said one of the challenges of the event was the conflict of other events happening around Laie. “We got to coordinate and negotiate prices between each of the [companies] and the things that they needed and the times and equipment they needed, which gets more and more complicated as you pick more and more people to work with.
“It was really exciting to try and work with that. It was a bit of a challenge, but we’re learning on our feet.”
Constantino remarked how college is about the experiences of a student as well. “You have to have your balance of studying really hard, and at the same time, playing and having fun really hard. For me, this is the first time I’ve done anything fun the entire week.”
Bateman said that for him, helping in organizing the event was a work of passion. “I enjoyed working on this, and I like listening to these kinds of music. Just like any other dance, the motivation just comes from trying to give the students a good experience while they’re here.”
Writer: Esther Insigne