It clocked midnight in Dana Dining Hall, the space had transformed. A crowd overtook the middle of the hall creating a makeshift mosh pit. Bodies pushed together, colorful lights sliced through the air and full bathroom lines—the sound of laughter, music and echoing footsteps merged into one.
The air was filled with excitement the days leading up to it. Late Night Dana gave us a chance to disconnect from the endless cycle of academics. The advertisements created a sense of the unknown. Doubts and questions began to emerge among murmurs of distant conversations. A fresh breath of a new, revolutionary experience.
After months of planning hand in hand with student activities, dining services, security and Lucas Boyden ’24 who provided logistics, Colby Lauria ’25 and his team created something that is poised to stand the test of time.
The vision of a determined group of students came to life in synergy with the university’s staff, creating an unforgettable experience — whether a unique party in a dining hall or the rise of a new tradition. It was uncharted territory, and the doubts were justified because of it. Yet, even with this lack of certainty, a memorable moment was created for those who were fortunate enough to attend.
Given the general consensus, the event unfolded as a remarkable success. “Colby promised us a SLU party in Dana and that’s exactly what we got,” said Patrick Chase ’25. That said, there were bound to be some issues — tables being one of them. Several in the pit were broken, likely from people dancing on top of them. “I thought everything went great, if you take away putting the tables in the pen, I think the whole thing goes off without a hitch. I’m very happy with how it went,” noted Lauria. Nonetheless, the event left students with lasting memories of a unique night.
Lauria is also very grateful to ACE in trusting the vision and process to provide financial support for the event. Though some students were disappointed that they could not attend. To that end, the hope is that this event will continue on either in the same format or some new evolved iteration of it. “Now that those events happen once, I would say now 50% of the groundwork is laid out. It would be possible for a group to bring it back like ACE or Java in the future” concluded Lauria. The successes of the events far outweigh the negatives and have most certainly left its positive mark on the university for years to come.