VERONICA NOVOTNY
STAFF WRITER
No amount of rain could deter students from celebrating neon and disco with the Lion of Judah household at their annual ’70s dance at 9 p.m. on Sept. 21 in the J.C. Williams Center.
Dancers trickled to the classic tune of the “YMCA,” mingling with old and new friends as they compared ’70s outfits and dance moves. Balloons, streamers and even a rogue penguin figurine collected at the dancers’ feet over the course of the night, and the excitement was palpable when ABBA’s smash hit “Dancing Queen” blasted from the speakers.
At the beginning of the night, the heavy rains flooded part of the J.C.’s main entrance, rainwater threatening to spill over into the atrium. Switchboard employees jumped in to save the day, vacuuming up stray puddles and restoring order once again.
John Hogan, a sophomore member of Lion of Judah, said, “Rain doesn’t stop the groove.” Rain certainly didn’t stop the household brothers from dressing to the nines in Hawaiian shirts and flared jeans. The Lions were grooving from the beginning, celebrating their first “customer” of the night and personally thanking students for attending.
Despite the early evening deluges, the crowd of dancers swelled once when the rain let up around 9:30, leaving the Atrium comfortably full. Attendees included resident students, commuters and even a few friends.
Students attending the dance appreciated the fun time period of the ’70s. “I liked the music,” freshman Kaitlyn Reznicek said. Reznicek came to the dance with a group of friends, and the fun atmosphere stood out the most to her. “At the start it was more laid back, but as it got going, everyone seemed really pumped, like they were having a great time.”
Miriam Lash, another freshman, said, “I think a lot of people don’t like ’70s music, but the DJ put a modern twist on the music to appeal to our hip modern students. So that was pretty sweet.” Even though she didn’t stay for long, Lash said she was glad she stopped by to see what the excitement was about and to support household life in the process.
The Lions’ ’70s dance followed the popular ’80s dance of Sept. 15. Several students have commented on the possibility of more period themed dances in the future, like a ’50s bash complete with poodle skirts and swing dancing.