To start the celebration for the holidays, students gathered together at the Aloha Center for the Winter Wonderland dance on Dec. 18. The dance offered food, games at the Hub, a karaoke room and dance floor, making it a hit among the students.
Matching the theme of the dance, the Aloha Center was decorated with handmade Christmas ornaments and yeti stilt walkers. Students were also provided with white T-shirts and refreshments.
The organizer for the event was Kei Riggins, a junior music major from California, who said the event was organized in such a way that everyone could enjoy. Riggins said she hopes students will know when they attend events, the events committee are trying to cater to their needs.
“We don't just make events to make events. We listen to their opinion and we want to do more stuff like this where everybody is having a good time so it doesn't cater just one person. No matter where you are from or what age or major, you can come and have a good time,” said Riggins.
According to Riggins, the idea of combining the activities of karaoke, games and dancing, started during the fall ball the last semester that included karaoke, which garnered a lot of success. She said the events committee has noticed that some students love dances and others don’t and just want to play games.
“It’s kind of nice having events where there are multiple things for people to do. If you got bored of singing karaoke, you just go out and dance. If you are bored of that, you can go play in the Hub. Its a fun evening for everyone,” Riggins added.
For Lose Faingaa, a sophomore psychology major from Tonga, the dance was her “way of enjoying the break and releasing some stress.” She said she had attended several dances before, but this was her first time attending one with free shirts and karaoke. “I really want to thank whoever planned this. This is good for the students. They needed it,” Faingaa said.
Ulziika Sukhbaatar, a sophomore political science major from Mongolia, added the dance helped her feel like it was really Christmas time at BYUH. She commented, “Back home, we celebrate December and New Year a lot, so for me it is good that even though I can’t go home for Christmas, I can still feel like it is Christmas. It’s a great feeling to feel that BYUH is a home.”
She said her favorite part of the dance was the free T-shirts because it was a great way to unite all the students at the dance.
Synneva Collet, a junior ICS major from Montana, found the dance very entertaining and said, “You can dance, karaoke, or go to the game center. I really like it a lot.”
Another student commented on the DJ. “We love the DJ. Every time he DJs, we know its going to be a good dance,” said Kate Davis, a sophomore ICS major from Washington.
Davis’ friend Bethany Hatch, a sophomore psychology major from Canada, said the Winter Wonderland dance was great and that with the karaoke, dancing and DJ, everyone really had a good time.