The stoplight dance is a UNK tradition put on by Community Assembly Night for as long as students can remember. Randall hall hosted this campus-wide dance that took place behind Men’s Hall.
Cory Moen, first time residence hall coordinator, said the stoplight dance helps students meet other people and it’s a popular event among the students.
“We tell people to invite their friends, invite other people to try to get as many people here as we can,” Moen said. “The purpose of the dance is just to get people together and get people from across campus to hang out and dance.”
The dance has brought numerous students, both enjoying and working the dance. Teressa Wiles, a senior psychology major from Liberty, volunteered to work the dance because she is a part of CAN and has experience with this event.
“It’s a really good social atmosphere,” Wiles said. “The freshmen don’t go out and meet people and this is a good way to get them out talking to people.”
Compared to last year’s dance, Moen stated that the number of students showing up is about the same as last year with being around 300-400 students coming and going throughout the night.
“I’m excited to see future years to see how it grows and expands,” Moen said. “I’m excited to see the event continue to grow.”
To put on a campus-wide event like the stoplight dance there has to be some planning. Moen and Wiles had to find a DJ, coordinate food, drinks, find people to work the sign in table and a variety of other things to make sure everything was ready when the students showed up.
One student who appreciated the free food was Ethan Keilig, a Spanish and interpretation major from Ravenna. Keilig went to the dance with his friends from his fraternity.
“The pizza sounded pretty appealing so that’s why I wanted to come,” Keilig said. “My favorite part about the dance is the pizza honestly.”
To get the students to keep coming back, posters that advertise the dance are posted across all across campus. Returning students and RA’s tell new students about the dance.
“I’ve heard of the dance from my friend that was here last year,” Keilig said. “It’s an interesting concept, I like it.”
Since the dance was one of Moen’s first dances as being the residence hall coordinator, Wiles stated that things were scattered and disorganized. With this year’s dance finished, Wiles only sees improvement happening in the future.
“Definitely the best thing that’ll happen next year is more experience,” Wiles said. “Not just among him, but among the students and CAN representatives.”
