The O’Connell House played host to the Joker, Superman, Batman, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and many other superheroes Thursday night for the annual Middlemarch Dance. Over 100 students attended the dance in full costume, according to Denny Carr, late night graduate programming assistant for the Student Programs Office (SPO) and LGSOE ’13.
Each year, the management of the O’Connell House meets to decide on a theme for the annual dance. This year, the Superhero theme was announced on Feb. 15 in Conte Forum.
“There’s a lot of variety with this theme,” said Christopher Georgevich, undergraduate manager of the O’Connell House and A&S ’13. “It’s something people would probably like to dress up as.”
Tickets for Middlemarch are typically distributed in a unique way. Students attend the Middlemarch announcement held in February to receive information for a scavenger hunt. Students who participate in the scavenger hunt around campus over the following weeks receive the right to purchase tickets to the dance.
This year, there were a few changes to the typical procedure.
“Tickets originally were awarded this year in the traditional scavenger hunt form,” Carr said in an e-mail.
Carr said that initial participation in the scavenger hunt was down from most years, however, so the tickets were offered online as well.
“When we saw the numbers were low, we decided to open up our sales and put them online, so any BC student who wanted to go could, but who might have not been able to go to the theme announcement to get a scavenger hunt,” Carr said.
Because the 100 Days Dance, sponsored by the Senior Week Committee, was postponed from its normal date in the middle of February, the event fell on the same night as Middlemarch. AHANA Leadership Council (ALC) Showdown was also the following night. Overall, the weekend was full of events that Carr said might have dispersed attendance.
“Attendance was not as high this year as past years, but this was a weekend filled with many great programs in addition to Middlemarch, including the BC bOp! concert, the Mediterranean Ball, 100 Days, and the ALC Showdown,” Carr said. “Over 100 students attended Middlemarch dressed as Superheroes.”
Despite the lower than normal attendance, students who attended Middlemarch enjoyed extensive superhero decorations arranged by the Middlemarch committee throughout the O’Connell House.
“The Middlemarch committee consisted of about 30 dedicated students, from freshmen to seniors,” Carr said. “They devoted time to weekly planning meetings since the beginning of February, planning the individual room themes, brainstorming supplies, and finally helping to transform the O’Connell House in just one week of decorating.”
Different rooms were decorated in the style of different superheroes, like Batman, Superman, and Spiderman. A DJ provided music for a dance floor.
“The students who came had a great time, and were very creative with their costumes, continuing this cherished BC tradition,” Carr said.
