Grace Murphy
Social Media Manager
After the Easter Vigil Mass Saturday, people poured into the J.C. Williams Center to celebrate at the Franciscan University of Steubenville annual Resurrection Party until 3 a.m.
This was the first year the Res Party happened since 2019 due to COVID-19 restrictions the past two years.
Upon walking into the J.C., students and visitors were greeted by volunteers handing out pizza. Volunteers also served sandwiches, donuts and coffee.
Posters of Jesus escaping the tomb with the caption “Flex” were plastered throughout the J.C.
The International Lounge was transformed into a “Candy Lounge” with tables set up so guests could mingle and chat. A big screen was set up in the Gentile Gallery for video games.
Children and college students alike played on a bounce house set up between the J.C. Williams Center and Christ the King Chapel.
In the J.C. atrium, the folk-rock band Crosby and Ellender played on a stage set up in front of the bookstore. The atrium was packed person to person with people dancing and singing along. In between their sets, guests danced to party hits. Some students also crowd surfed.
During the evening, Bob Lesnefsky, director of Household Life, joined Crosby and Ellender onstage for a rap performance.
Throughout the night, volunteers tossed rolls of toilet paper over the J.C. second floor railing onto the crowds dancing below. The paper was strewn all over the J.C. floors, and some people used it to make hats.
At about 2 a.m., hundreds of balloons were dropped from the ceiling onto the crowd in the atrium.
The party continued late into the night, wrapping up around 3 a.m.
Senior Jonathan Meinholz said the party was a great time.
“I especially appreciated how the organizers set up different activities throughout the J.C. to cater to multiple crowds,” he said. “It was fun to have the whole array of options that contributed to the controlled chaos that was our celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection.”