The Natali Student Center saw a red and white takeover on Wednesday, Feb. 14th.
The Student Activities Board was quickly running out of unstuffed animals to give out, but students still seemed eager to strap on a pair of LED color changing headphones and relax. For the early ones who got the unstuffed animals, a complementary bag of stuffing was all that stood in the way of them and their newest furry pal.
Jackson Banes is the President of SAB, and he said that the board has been planning this since January.
“We purchased decorations and food throughout [the month] and used our headphone disco set as well,” he said, “Everyone loves a good disco, what better than a love song disco”.
Starting promptly at 7 p.m., students rolled in and quickly filled the space in the Rotunda. Within the first 10 minutes, a small crowd of about 15 students shuffled in, collected their animal and headphones, and promptly took their seats and got to work. Overall, about 60 students attended the event, and Banes describes it as “more of a relaxing disco”.
Camera Bailey agrees. The Sophomore Interdisciplinary Studies major says that, for her, small scale events like these are right up her alley. In fact, she says, Cal should have more.
“They are significantly less intimidating to attend alone and allow you to interact with people that you may have never met before,” she said, “Also, as someone who can get overstimulated pretty easily, it being a smaller event made me feel more comfortable overall”.
Bailey heard about the event through the Engage app, and decided to come with her roommate. She has been to every Headphone Disco since she enrolled at Cal.
Banes says that there are many events planned for the future for SAB, like a Family Feud event, Airbrushing event, Movie Nights, giveaways, and even a hypnotist. He also teased a Spring concert with a “big artist”.
Students may remember the “big artist” from last year, Sean Kingston. Those same students will have a chance to attend the announcement party on Leap Day, Feb. 29th. Time and location has not been announced yet according to Banes, so students are encouraged to follow SAB’s Instagram @cal.sab.
