At around 10:30 p.m., red and gold balloons began falling onto the 360 students who attended Winter Ball. Lights flashed and changed colors from purple to pink, blue and green. A miniature Empire State Building stood in front of cardboard that mimicked the New York skyline. The junior council and Spirit Club hosted the dance, themed New York, New York in the Nichols Atrium from 8 to 11 p.m. on Saturday for students to enjoy themselves.

New highlights accompanied the annual Winter Ball. DJ Myty Myke from the radio station 99.7 NOW played music for the students. Other accents included NY-themed food, such as mini-cheesecakes, a cheese plate and crackers, decorations and a photo booth for the entire night.

“My friends were going too, so I decided to go,” Sara Min (10) said. “It was fun. I like the photo booth, and we ended up taking a lot of selfies in the mirror. The music was pretty good. For some of the songs, I really liked the chorus, but [the DJ] made the instrumental part softer.”

Starting from November last year, Spirit Club and the junior council brainstormed different ideas for the theme, decorations and DJ. Once the theme was selected, the junior council sorted out the logistics, including ticket sales, announcements, and decorations.

“We definitely wanted it to be [a] classy type of vibe yet also a really lively atmosphere for students to have fun and get together with the community,” junior class president Jimmy Lin said. “I think there are definitely a lot of new perks this year. We just definitely feel like it’s going to be a memorable experience for everyone who attends.”

Assistant to Directors of Activities and Business and Entrepreneurship Program Eric Kallbrier offered his parking spot on campus to a student for one week as an incentive to buy a ticket.

“I wanted to help the junior class get as many people as possible, and since nobody could park on campus this year I thought it would be nice to use the parking space as an incentive,” Kallbrier said. “I was just thinking of things that would mean a lot to people. [I feel like] being able to park on campus, not having to worry about walking and being late to class would mean something to some of the older kids on campus.”

Having won the raffle, senior Chris Hailey describes his reactions at the news.

“I was just elated; I can finally park on campus for one week,” he said. “It’s that week of glory where I can come to school with convenience. I was thinking about not going this year, but at the last minute I had this gut feeling to go because it’s my last Winter Ball as a senior, and it definitely paid off.”

Winter Ball was the last dance for seniors before Prom on March 18.

“I usually like dances, and I like hanging out with friends and listening to music,” Noa Sasson (12) said. “I already signed up before Winter Break when they had that half of the advisory [sale], so I got a discount, and that’s basically what incentivized me to buy [a ticket].”

Prom will be the following dance for students.