On Friday, Feb. 16, Cabrini’s Grace Hall became a time machine. Participants who attended the “Battle of the Decades” dance were taken back to the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s. Many participants showed up in their best archival attire and enjoyed the vibes of the night.
Jé La Boulden, SEaL program assistant and Cabrini 2023 alumna was the main planner behind the event. She made sure everyone who came dressed from a certain decade felt represented. “I made a makeshift photo booth where we could change out the different props with each decade so everyone could be represented in their own way,” Boulden said.
Emily Lichius, sophomore writing and narrative arts major said, “I think I got creative with the theming this year. Our other dances have kind of just been themed around the time of year, so it’s fun to see something a little bit different.”
Boulden also requested the help of Cavalier Radio to DJ the evening. Boulden worked with Cavalier Radio to curate a playlist encapsulating the different decades of the night. “I crafted a playlist for the ’70s all the way up to today figuring that we could do, like, a big transition through the decades together.”
While Boulden added her own songs to that playlist, Hannah Poggi, senior digital communication major and Cavalier Radio DJ said, “There were some great hits within the playlist that paid respects to each decade. Sonny (Terranova, another student DJ at the event) and I went off the playlist a bit and put our own spin to our favorite tunes from the decades.”
Boulden also made sure to provide incentives to draw people into participating. Boulden said, “The RA with the most residents who come will receive a $75 bookstore gift card. The RA with the best-dressed residents can receive a $50 Amazon gift card. Then, the overall best-dressed winner is going to receive a prize bundle with the decade that they’re representing.”
Poggi said, “A couple won for their 2000s outfit. They both were wearing baggy jeans and cool sporty jerseys, and they really encapsulated everything that was the 2000s.”
The Resident Assistants on campus were interested in attending due to the incentives. Lichius said, “As an RA, we were highly incentivized to come because the floor that had the most people to attend would receive a prize. So we were incentivized to not only show up ourselves but also try to get as many residents on campus to attend.”
Decades collide, fun unites
Although the turnout was not very large, the people who came still enjoyed their time. Poggi said, “The vibes at the start of the night were very slow, not too many people were there at the beginning. But as the night went on, more people started to show up and brought friends. Everyone ended up dancing in circles and busted some moves.”
Boulden provided some goodies for participants to enjoy. Lichius said, “I do like that they had provided silly [wrist]bands. I mean, I feel kind of old thinking that it’s supposed to be part of a decade’s dance when they were something I liked when I was a kid. I can’t be that old yet!”
While curating the song selection of the night, Poggi took note of which decade saw the most activity. “The decade I would say was the most popular was the 2000s. There were a lot of songs played by Usher, Snoop Dogg, and Beyoncé.”
Poggi added, “The song that was the most popular was ‘Yeah!’ by Usher. This really got everyone up on their feet and dancing.”
The low attendance didn’t ruin the atmosphere of the evening. Poggi said, “I wish there could’ve been a larger turnout, but the students that came made the best out of it and danced all night to some of their favorite hits.”
