They thought we were crazy. Crazy to invite over 300 students from SBC and VMI to use the Library’s historic Ralph Adams Cram designed reading room and upstairs study gallery for a raucous winter mixer, complete with DJ and a lot of creative decorations, not to mention food and a cash bar! We wanted to show SBC the Powell Reading Room was not just a reading room, but also a space for campus events, both formal and informal. Please note: the revelers only had access to those two areas, the rest of the Library being locked up—especially the stacks! With careful planning thanks to StARs, the evening was a great success.
I’m sure Daisy enjoyed it, too.
Here’s an account by StAR’s own Elizabeth Young ‘11
The culmination of almost a semester and a half of planning, Winter Mixer is the crowing achievement of the Student Activities Representatives (StARs). The Mixer was only given to us last year, but we have worked hard to ensure that students have a free semi-formal dance in the spring semester. Last year we held the dance at the Elston Inn and Conference Center here on campus; this year we wanted to shake things up and we pursued an alternative venue. Surprisingly, the library seemed perfect.
We were worried that our proposal would be denied for the safety of the books, however the librarians backed us as we mounted a project that would be a much larger than our first try at Mixer. The location change presented a much larger challenge than last year’s: we had to ensure that no one’s studying was interrupted, we had to completely empty the biggest room in the library and put it all back before hours on Saturday, we had to protect all the books and equipment, and we had to ensure that all of our decorations would not harm anything.
The StARs tackled the project and we were so excited to see it all come together. Hiccups occurred on the night of, and we had to nix some of the decorations ideas we were planning on doing, but it did not really matter. After all, as one student said in amazement, “It’s just a party in the Library!” We had over 350 students attend from Sweet Briar and VMI and we had students in ball gowns and corsets as well as jeans and tee shirts. While the event was officially a semi-formal, the StARs basically have an “all are welcome” philosophy because more people=more party. It was a Masquerade but masks were optional and most people ditched theirs fairly quickly. Ms Meta Glass did manage to keep hers on the entire night, however.
Any way you swing it, the library was rockin’ last Friday, and the StARs know students were surprised at how much fun a party in the library could be.
Nice!!!