Homecoming week at the University of Northern Colorado came to an end with the Homecoming Dance on Oct. 19 in the UC ballrooms.
The dance was organized by the Residence Hall Association. Eight people on the RHA board worked together to create the ideas put into this year’s homecoming. Katelyn Lowell, the social and traditional event coordinator for the 2019-2020 school year, oversaw planning for the dance.
“The whole purpose of our events is to just bring people together and bring a sense of community to UNC through our residence halls,” Lowell said. “I have to keep our residents’ best interest in mind by thinking of events that they would want to go to, that relate to them and things that they feel comfortable going to.”
Students came to listen to music, dance with their friends, play games, and make crafts. Ring toss, cornhole and bowling created a fun competition among friends. While, popular songs like the Wobble, Cotton-Eyed Joe and the Cupid Shuffle brought students to the dance floor throughout the night.
People who attended the dance could enter a raffle to win prizes. The prizes included baskets filled with lotion, bath bombs, blankets, socks, a neck pillow and slippers. Two lucky students won and got to bring home their prizes at the end of the night.
Some students dressed casually, while others wore formal attire. A few even wore costumes that went along with the theme.
This year’s homecoming theme was Bearea 51, which was showcased as soon as students entered the room. The dance floor was covered in green alien balloons and there were neon lights flashing across the walls. There was a bead table, giving people the chance to get all decked out for the night. Another table handed out glowsticks.
Mina Jackson, a senior journalism major, came to the dance with her friend. She said she thought the music that was played was fun to dance to. She also loved the creativity of the theme.
“The theme is pretty cool, I think Bearea 51 is really cheesy, but like in a good way,” Jackson said.
Lowell planned out how to incorporate the theme by doing research on the area 51 raid. One of the main focuses of the dance was to include the meme culture that surrounded the raid. The biggest contribution to meme culture that could be seen at the dance was a Naruto race track. People doing the “Naruto run” at area 51 became an internet sensation around the time of the raid. She hoped comedic aspects like this made students want to come and stay at the dance.
“This is the first time where we feel like UNC has really appreciated the meme culture, the culture that our students are experiencing,” Lowell said.
