By Sydney Fairbanks
In honor of homecoming week, Student Activities hosted a homecoming dance with a twist Oct. 20.
The dance was a silent disco where attendees received a pair of headphones to customize the music they listened to instead of hearing it from speakers.
The Silent Disco was hosted in the Chestnut Room in Kilcawley Center and was open to all students. The dance had snacks and refreshments, three DJ’s and lots of room for sitting or dancing.
Jordan Record, a graduate assistant for Student Activities, said the Silent Disco was created to tie in the familiarity of high school homecoming traditions into Youngstown State University’s homecoming weekend.
“A lot of high schools do a homecoming dance and we’re a university so we don’t want to do a homecoming dance. So, instead we do the silent disco as a way to still get some of that experience that you might know from homecoming from high school, but put a university twist on it, make it our own thing,” Record said.
Many students dressed more casually in regular pants and t-shirts as opposed to the formal wear typically worn at a high school dance. However, students were not discouraged from dressing up and a few formal outfits slid into the mix.
At the disco, each student was given a pair of headphones on which the station and volume could be controlled. The color of glowing lights on the headphones indicated which station was being played.
Each DJ played a different genre of music so students had a variety to choose from. The genres were R&B and hip-hop, EDM and pop, and international music and top hits from around the world.
“If you don’t like the music that’s playing on one channel, you have two other channels that you can listen to. So, it just gives you more options so you can listen to the music that you like,” Record said.
Record also said the event allowed students to listen to music and make friends through similar music tastes.
“You can definitely make friends at the event, especially if you find people who are listening to the same kind of music that you like. That’s one way to make new friends based on similar interests, ” Record said.
Based on the availability of headphones, at least 100 students attended the Silent Disco.
While there have been other Silent Disco events at YSU, Record said this was her first and it was unlike any other event she had been to.
“This was a very unique thing for me to experience for the first time. Like I said, it was kind of funny— in a good way — funny watching them all have fun, but unless you put the headphones on, you didn’t know what they were listening to,” Record said.
For any upcoming events, go to the Student Activities website, and contact Record for any additional information at [email protected]