Late Night Dana in Depth!

What Does the Event Mean for SLUParty Culture?

Late Night Dana, transformed the dining hall into a vibrant night club, connecting students all over the campus. This extravagant idea, that took place on October 11 at 11:30 p.m., has raised many questions about student life and how a significant event like Late Night Dana promoted a fun new experience. What does this mean for inclusion on St. Lawrence University’s campus and the social and party culture of student experience?

In an interview with Colby Lauria, a senior here at St. Lawrence, we hear about the overall idea surrounding ‘Late Night Dana’ and why he wanted to turn our dining hall into a nightclub. “How can we replicate something of a big school?” he questions, as our school is small and doesn’t have nightclubs around. He wanted to make the experience new for students, so that’s what he did.

Diving more into the interview, the question of inclusion plays a role in student life here. “I think it’s whether or not you want inclusion to play a role,” he says. He thinks that it depends on what the student wants. He also states, “it’s a weird balance with SLU right, when things are almost less inclusive there’s more draw to it.” Late Night Dana served as an inclusive event for students to attend. It was a fun and refreshing way to integrate many groups of people.

Reaching out to many people to interview about Late Night Dana, it was important to get a security point of view. When reaching out to Melanie Locy, the Assistant Director for St. Lawrence University Safety and Security, the question of how this event was held was prompted. “The goal is to make sure that there is an event where everybody is not only having fun but is also safe.” When asked, she highlights that Dana is not ever used as a party scene, though when asked about the party culture here at SLU, she responded with “The party culture is very high at St. Lawrence in my opinion.” She believes this event helped positively impact the student body and the party culture, while doing it in a safe way. She believes this event helped bring awareness in bringing party culture to the campus.

For the last interview, a student that attended the event, Karina Bushweller, a first-year here at SLU, was asked about why she attended the event and stated that “My goal was to experience something that you probably won’t be able to experience very often.” She wanted to be a part of a new and exciting experience here and believed that the event itself promoted inclusion of all students. “I think SLU is a very inclusive place”, she says, and when asked the question of if it was successful she responded with, “Yes, definitely, a lot of people showed up and maybe it will be an annual thing.”

Late Night Dana served a vital role in student life here at SLU and promoted the idea that you can always be creative to have fun. This event provided a space to unwind and have an enjoyable time while also being safe on campus. It encouraged connection between students and the culture while offering an alternative to a nightclub. Late Night Dana is a prime example of making campus life more vibrant while being inclusive.