Student Union Board hosts annual Black and White Ball
Roughly 250 students gathered at the Top of the Tower on 17th and Arch St. in Center City, Philadelphia for the 10th annual Black and White Ball on March 24. This event featured a full buffet of gourmet food, a “mocktail” bar, complimentary commemorative wine glasses and dancing all night long.
As a senior, this was my fourth and final Black and White Ball, and I’m grateful that the Student Union Board (SUB) spent their time and resources on this classy event for the past four years I have been here. It’s nice to have an excuse to dress up with your friends and spend less than one would on a night out with food and transportation included in the cost.
SUB could almost be the unsung hero of weekend plans here at St. Joe’s. Their website boasts that they are “a student-run organization that maximizes the college experience by providing engaging events for the entire student body on a college budget.” We’re so used to SUB providing us with free food during free period, offering trips off campus or hosting movie nights that we almost forget to be thankful for their existence on this campus.
While many students do not utilize the opportunities that SUB can provide, some events draw large numbers. Former president of SUB, Victoria DiNaro, ’17, explained that events typically draw 100-115 students, with #SJUbyU events drawing around 300 and Hawkapalooza drawing around 1,000.
“With our events we set target numbers and we almost always hit our target or we get higher attendance than we expected,” DiNaro said. “But we definitely have events that we don’t hit our target attendance number and it can be due to a number of reasons like other events on campus, formals or date parties for sororities or fraternities, or the marketing just didn’t capture the students’ attention.”
My friends and I have attended the Black and White Ball for the past four years together—and now have the full set of glasses from each location it has been hosted. For us, this is a time to celebrate our friendship, our semesters and enjoy food far better than what we could cook on our own. We see other friends who have been before and make friends who are new to Black and White Ball. It feels like a special occasion, and we were sad to dance the final song. Black and White Ball was one of the events that bonded us as freshmen living on the same floor, and it was cool to see our four years come full circle with the event once again being hosted at Top of the Tower.
Despite these rising numbers of participants, it can seem like some on campus feel that SUB events are for freshmen, especially during the fall semester. Seniors often live farther away from where the events are taking place or spend less time in areas like Campion, where SUB puts up fliers to advertise events.
As a senior who lives off campus without a meal plan, I can understand why it is harder to find out about events that are advertised in specific campus buildings. However, this does not mean upperclassmen do not take advantage of SUB events like the Black and White Ball.
Shannon Trimm, ’17, is a four- year veteran of SUB and one of two Late-Night co-chairs, who focuses on planning events for weekend nights. This past weekend’s Black and White Ball was one of those events, and one of their most successful so far.
“We are trying to plan more events geared toward upperclassmen,” Trimm said.
This is a positive step for SUB to take on this campus. Increased engagement in the programs and experiences SUB offers can only benefit us. By devoting planning time to enticing more juniors and seniors to participate, SUB can offer an even more diverse set of programs to a more diverse group of students. We all pay the student activities fee that helps fund SUB with our tuition, so we should all take advantage of it.
