With its electrifying music, neon disco lights, glowing surroundings and delicious food, ASPB’s Silent DiscGlow was the perfect opportunity for students to let loose and dance the night away before the stress of finals sinks in. Tuned into different channels, students were able to dance with glow sticks to the music from headphones rather than speakers. As my friends and I took the elevator up to HUB 302, the long line of students waiting to get in surprised us since we were not expecting a large number of people.
ASPB’s staff had everyone form a line down the hallway. As it was closer to dinnertime for many students, conversations about the free burritos and boba drifted through the hallway. “These better be some good burritos,” remarked a student. It was close to 6:30 p.m. before the line started to move forward. My friend, Audrey, expressed her enthusiasm for the event by stating, “I’m honestly excited because the food and the whole experience of a silent disco is something I haven’t experienced before.” As we drew closer to the entrance, I noticed the neon lights that filled the dark room.
After swiping my student ID to get in, staff members handed out free neon glow stick necklaces to students. The environment of the room was chill, as students lounged around on glowing seats enjoying their burrito and boba. The line for the burritos was a bit slower compared to the line for boba. I quickly jumped to the boba line where there was a selection of milk, Thai and taro tea that were disappearing quick.
Clusters of students gathered around the photo booth station where a table full of props ranging from a hot dog hat to a crown were displayed. Not wanting to wait in the long line, my friends and I sat on the floor devouring our food. Other Highlanders seemed to follow the idea and gathered on the floor while humming along to Flo Rida’s “My House” and Alessia Cara’s “Seventeen.”
The main event was obviously the silent disco, as the guests gathered on the dance floor to groove along to the music coming through their headphones. Staff members handed out glowing headphones by the curtain where everyone was dancing and explained what each color signified, where the volume was and how to change the station. Red was Top 40, green was hip-hop, and blue was EDM. Also one side of the headphones changed the station and the other was for the volume.
Not wanting to miss out on the action, I placed my headphones on and it was almost as if I was suddenly transported to a club. “I literally feel like I’m at a high school dance right now,” exclaimed my friend, Janine. Everyone seemed to be in their own world,as they moved their bodies to the beat of the song they were listening to. One individual let the music carry him away as he seemed to choreograph every dance move perfectly, while drawing a crowd toward him. Meanwhile, a group of guys were jumping and screaming to their EDM song having the time of their lives.
On the Top 40 station, Ke$ha’s “Die Young” as well as Ariana Grande’s “Problem” and other hit songs blasted through. The EDM station was connected to the student DJ, Ramon Pang, which created a very interactive experience. Everyone shouted and raised their hands to the beat of the music. Even the staff could not resist the music as they all danced together.
Pang was toward the front of the room, where the EDM listeners gathered closer to him, jumping and singing along like a typical concert. It was strange taking off the headphones, because all that could be heard was the sound of feet stomping on the ground and lyrics of different songs being shouted out. But once you put the headphones on, it’s like you were connected to strangers around you since you know what song they are listening to.
Slowly, students started leaving and the dance floor winnowed out. Pang ended the night with Zayn Malik’s “Pillowtalk” as the staff starting turning the lights back on.
After dancing away all the stress, the room grew empty. With the success of an event like this, hopefully this won’t be the last of the Silent DiscGlow.
