The stigma surrounding UNIS dances is very prevalent. Students not only think that they are generally boring but also criticize the food and the music. I have been at UNIS since the beginning of Middle School and, from the many dances that I have attended, they never seem to get any better. The turnout for each dance has gotten progressively worse over the past five years, and at the last dance of the 2016-2017 school year, only around 40 students from the entire Tutorial house showed up.

The dances are organized by the Student Council (StuCo), and each year they advertise it in this manner: “It’s going to be better than the last dance!” The standards for the dances have become so low that this slogan has become valid as even a minor change, for example having better food, would make the dance better than the previous one. It seemed the StuCo, at least in the past, put little thoughts into making the dances more successful. I think in order to increase the attendance and to receive more positive feedback from the dances, the StuCo has to take a completely different route. They should not only change the food and music but also convince the students that their upcoming dance will be better and distinctly different from the previous ones. In other words, they need to convince students that it is worth attending.

Using these criteria, this year’s Tut House dance – the Winter Formal – held on 2018 February 2 was successful. The DJs Kai Hansen (T4), Awa Ndiaye (T4), Dieynaba Dieng (T4), and Noella Kalasa (T3) excited the students and created a great atmosphere for dancing. One T3 student said, “The music was actually music that we listen to and enjoy. I also liked that they played music from different languages.” Around 200 tickets were sold by the StuCo prior to the dance, and more than 30 were sold at the door. The turnout improved from prior dances because advertising prior to the dance had improved as well as the new, intriguing ‘formal’ theme, which entailed a black-tie dress code. The StuCo also partnered with UNIS clubs to sell candy grams to advertise and get people excited about the dance, another factor contributing to its success.

Nevertheless, there were still some shortcomings to this dance. One of these was the food. One T4 student commented on the food, “It wasn’t really necessary to have food at all since we were dancing most of the time and a lot of students had already eaten before or were going to eat after. I think that in the future, they should probably just get some finger foods so that people can just grab a bite and not actually have to commit to eating a full sandwich.” The StuCo had arranged water and lemonade, but both ran out quickly: by the middle of the dance, there was nothing left to drink.

But overall, the 2018 Winter Formal should be considered a success as it stood out from the disappointing history of UNIS dances.