All Hall Ball gives student body chance to let loose
On Friday, April 26, Seattle Pacific University students arrived at the Fremont Foundry dressed to the nines for a night of photos, games and dancing.
The venue was decorated with white string lights, white linens and pastel flowers, complimenting the event’s garden oasis theme.
Sophomore and STUB member Kaytlin Tan had been looking forward to this event all quarter long.
“It feels great, really relaxing to enjoy an event that someone else got to plan,” she said.
Students were dressed in floral prints and pastel shades, participating with the theme. Tan believes that the theme was well chosen; it was interactive with students, and seldom done before.
Attendance for the event was fairly sparse, which Tan believed was because Friday marked the start of the opening weekend for “Avengers: Endgame.”
Tan also believed that another factor would be the misconception of what the event entails. “Some people think it’s only dancing, but there’s games and food as well,” she said.
Moyer Hall resident adviser Joy Smith admired the hard work and collaboration of each of the residence halls.
“I’m super excited to see the work of hall councils pay off. It looks great. My floor was really excited to be here.”
The first floor of the event consisted of a dance floor with music curated by Ashton Hall, a snack bar coordinated by Arnett Hall, a photo booth, a henna tattoo station and plenty of room for students to lounge and socialize off of the dance floor.
Aside from dancing, the Emerson Hall council, which was in charge of all other activities, made sure there were plenty of other entertainment options for students. The second floor consisted of classic board games, life-sized checkers, Connect4 and cornhole outside on the balcony.
The venue’s balcony was adorned by LED string lights for students to take pictures in front of. Senior photographer and former Emerson Hall resident adviser Jireh Reduque was able to capture memories for students as they mingled with students from different halls.
“I’m actually super honored to be photographing this event. As a photographer with a small business, it means a lot to have an opportunity to grow,” she said.
As for those attending the event while living outside of the halls, Reduque mentions that while it is “definitely different,” it is still her favorite event of the year.
Reduque’s photos of the event will be posted on her instagram page for students to enjoy at @sunsnaps.
First time All Hall Ball attendee and transfer student Kali Barnes expresses her unexpected amusement of the event overall.
“I love that everybody’s dancing, and hanging out with friends. It’s one last hurrah before the quarter ends and everyone goes home for the summer,” she said
Barnes added that the music had exceeded her expectations, having expected less and receiving more.
SPU, a dry campus, has different lifestyle rules opposed to state institutions such as the University of Washington. These rules are enforced at university hosted events such as All Hall Ball. Barnes believes that the rules play a role in the event’s success.
“I think it’s a really different, more appropriate, genuine good time. Opposed to having an ‘influenced’ good time. There are no expectations, and no judgement,” she said.
Arnett Hall Council President Emma Engel and Vice President Jenn Steele were both pleased with the overall outcome of the event.
“I think everything fit together as I had expected, it definitely exceeded my expectations,” Steele said.
“I thought it would be low in attendance, but the last few days it came together really well. Earlier today we were picking up boxes of platters of food — the people at Fred Meyers thought we were crazy. The attendance numbers were really low at first, then met expectations last minute.”
Engel adds that she was delighted with the amount of dancing and participation.
“I loved being able to make sure everyone is having a good time,” she said.