By Peter Elijah Lim
Staff Writer
Knights of the Holy Queen men’s household hosted its Pink Shirt Dance Party fundraiser beginning at 8 p.m. in the J.C. Williams Center atrium on February 25.
This alcohol-free party has been a tradition for the start of the Lenten season since 2021, when Knights revived the fundraiser with the purpose of providing fasting-friendly fun and promoting the household’s Marian devotion.
The atrium was decorated in the theme color of the vent, with pink streamers wrapped around pillars, pink balloons and a pink streamer curtain at the entrance.
The first 50 students to enter the event received a free pink T-shirt to wear at the dance. Students who arrived later wore their own pink outfits.
Throughout the evening, music was played from a DJ stage in the front center of the atrium. Students were able to request songs which followed the university’s clean music guidelines.
Popular songs with dancers included “Cotton Eye Joe” by Rednex, “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins and “The Git Up” by Blanco Brown.
Water and refreshments were also offered for participants.
“I really enjoyed the guy/girl ratio,” junior theology and catechetics major John Cummings said of the event. “Fire me up, Barons!”
“This traditional dance event is (intended) to create a stable environment with our Catholic practice of Lent,” said junior Eddy Padilla.
Padilla, a member of Knights of the Holy Queen and a DJ at the party, also described the evening as not being a typical college dance.
“The Knights’ brotherhood is growing, and we are happy to celebrate this,” said Knights member and junior Collin Piser. “The dance shall show our Franciscan campus what this (brotherhood) truly means, especially with … our sister household, Regina Angelorum.”