Wheelwright Whiteout
Sparkling white Christmas lights illuminated the Wheelwright logo of a nautical wheel last Saturday night outside the entrance of Grainger Auditorium. Although the dance was not in its traditional spot of the Wheelwright common room, Wheelwright Whiteout was certainly a success.
According to Wheelwright proctor and senior Alyse Clinton, the administration made it clear that a dorm is not an appropriate setting to host a school-wide event, especially a dance, and it would not be held there again in the future. Wheelwright lower Anna Reaman said that during last year’s dance, “The columns were shaking and there were some… behavioral issues.” This prompted its relocation to Grainger, a sturdier option with a larger capacity.
“I feel like it really brought us Wheelies closer together.”
Clinton thought the move was for the best. She said, “Last year showed that the columns we have and the small space create safety hazards. It’s not worth risking someone getting hurt just for a cool venue,” she said.
Wheelwright students were concerned that people wouldn’t enjoy the dance without its previous, more unique location of the common room. However, the feedback from dance-goers was unanimously positive. “The music and ambiance made it, for me, the best dance of the year,” lower Lauren Arkell said.
Lower Molly Canfield agreed. “Whiteout was really fun because it was different. There wasn’t as much of a grinding problem this time and instead people just danced in big groups of friends,” she said.
Members of Wheelwright agreed with the outside attendees. Clinton said, “The move wasn’t that hard, surprisingly. Us proctors were worried that people would be very resistant to the change, but based on the numbers on Saturday, I’d say that it wasn’t a big deal.”
In order to advertise the event, the Wheelwright proctors coordinated the design of a promo that was posted on their Facebook page. It featured a few star dancers, such as seniors Maddie Toole, Lily Sexton, Ashley Baxter, Yena Cho, lower Lily Friedberg and prep Ogechi Nwankwoala, who showed off their moves in anticipation for the big night. The video circulated quickly across campus receiving 770 views. In addition to the promo, invitations were sent out over other social media pages such as Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat.
As the first dance of the spring term, it was anticipated that there would be a larger turnout. Students said that this contributed to the success of the dance. Prep Reina Matsumoto said, “There were a lot more people at Whiteout than any of the other dances, which made it more fun.”
The dorm put a large amount of effort into planning and building the space for the dance. Wheelwright held a dorm-wide poll to clarify that people wanted to host the dance at all, even if it was in a different place. After a conclusive “yes” in the vote, the dorm worked with its dorm faculty to decide on decorations, DJ and drinks of choice.
Each Wheelie was required to lend a hand in the setting up and taking down of the event, and some chose to collaborate with the dorm faculty and administration to help the dance meet its budget and to help with hiring a DJ. Recognizable in the blacklight, Wheelies were each proudly clad in white spray-painted t-shirts, a dorm activity prior to the night of the dance.
Reaman said, “The planning of the dance was less of a task and more of an opportunity for dorm bonding.” In the time spent combining artistic talents, taping the promo, making décor decisions and physically setting up and breaking down tables, she aid, “I feel like it really brought us Wheelies closer together.”