One of the highest-attended dances of the year is just around the corner, the Dia de los Muertos Dance on Oct. 27. This year’s Day of the Dead Dance is not only set up for a good time, but will be taking donations for Adelante Mujeres, an organization dedicated to empowering Latina women in the community.
The theme this year is inspired by the Mexican holiday “Dia de los Muertos,” which celebrates the deceased. At the dance there will be cultural activities such as free face painting and candy skull decorating. The Anthropology/Sociology club will be co-hosting this event with such as ACE Board. One of the presidents of the Anthropology/Sociology club Catie Prechtel suggested students get to the dance earlier than later if students want to participate in the cultural events because of limited supplies.
According to members of ACE Board and Director of the University Center & Student Activities Steve Klein, the main goal this year is to keep dances safe and secure. With a few dances last year that got slightly out of hand, the goal this year is to have advisers, CPS and volunteers at every dance or large event to help maintain the safety of students.
The buzz around campus has been that there have not been as many dances and events this semester as the last and it has raised some questions about ACE Board’s planning. A chair on ACE Board Kate Schiewe said that this is a result of other events planned and finding a time that works with everyone. During the month of October for example, there have been events like homecoming and family weekend taking up most of the weekends.
“There was really only one date for a dance,” said Schiewe, referring to the upcoming Dia de los Muertos Dance.
Another idea ACE Board took into consideration with planning events this semester was looking at what everyone wants to do, because according to a survey taken, not everyone’s top choice is a dance.
A survey taken by ACE Board was sent out asking students if they had a free weekend night, what they would want to do. The choices included: A dance, a concert, a movie, a comedian, a sports game, a student performance or a cultural event. Out of the 328 that filled out the survey, only 17 percent said a dance would be their first choice. The first top choice was a movie, followed by a concert.
Schiewe said they really took the survey into consideration and are planning a diverse amount of events for the month of Nov., which will include a movie night and another dance.
Planning is the main issue when it comes to getting events together, Schiewe said. Sometimes it can take up to two months just to get contracts to be signed and the event to be official, so the planning process is tough.
ACE Board meets every Tuesday to plan and Schiewe said they are always recruit new members.
The Day of the Dead dance will be held in the MPR from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. and the D.J. will be Scotty Morris, a former ACE Board member and 2011 alum.
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