BLD

This post is a little overdue. But better late than never.

Last Saturday there was a blacklight dance.

That normally wouldn't be too out of the ordinary. Except that Wheaton for many years was essentially Footloose University and dancing wasn't allowed. Eventually that was changed, but there could only be four dances a year and they were hosted by one on-campus group, College Union. It was a dance monopoly, if you will. These dances have been the same for the last two or three decades and involve things like square-dancing, swing-dancing, and roller skating. Fun, but not exactly up to date.

This summer, that changed. If you were a group on campus, you could request to hold a dance. 

Our class council decided, after much debate, decided to make it a blacklight dance. And as events coordinator, I was in charge. And more than a little nervous. 

This should not have gone well.

The administration was skeptical.

The students were worried it would get out of hand.

We're only sophomores and we don't have even close to the resources College Union does.

But we did it. And after months of planning, stress, worry, and prayer (And I mean constant, please-God-let-this-go-well prayer) it happened. And it absolutely rocked. That "BLD" title could just as easily be "BFD" because it is a big freaking deal that this happened.

So to the tear-down editorials filled with snarky comments that all we did was take away some of the "nastier elements" that go along with the connotation this kind of event (i.e. drinking, drugs, a "hyper-sexualized environment")--then what exactly is the problem? I understand the concern that this kind of a thing is trying to be too much a part of the world, and that's valid. Our primary goal shouldn't be to be "cool". But I fail to see how providing a safe environment for people to have fun on campus damages our credibility as Christians. And I think the fact that the author of that editorial said she herself had fun--even while on the lookout for any hint of immorality or misdirected intentions--proves our point.
I think people were afraid because this was new. Because yes, we were playing the same music played in clubs. But this is a classic example of high/low culture preferences. No one at all has problems with a salsa dance (I guess no one's seen Dirty Dancing), probably because it has more of a set form and its part of many people's cultural heritage. Well, for a lot of our generation, house music is cultural. And making blanket statements about culture is narrow-minded. Condemnation leads very, very easily into legalism. This is okay, this is not. If you listen to this song, if you go to that club--ooh, you must be struggling with your faith, huh?
Yes, there are elements of that scene, that culture, that don't line up with our morals--but for me at least, it comes down to intent. If you really wanted to, you could make the Charleston inappropriate. And I fully understand the point that if something is a stumbling block for some, then the rest of us need to be sensitive to that and not provide temptation. After all, that's really what the Community Covenant is for.We are told that "everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial". So if for you going to the Blacklight Dance was a pseudo version of a club scene that went against what you believe is beneficial for you, then I apologize. Truly, that was not our intent.
Maybe because they didn't get to see all the work that went into this. They saw flashing lights, heard pounding bass, saw a sea of jumping people. They had no idea that this was a showcase of so many different people's talents--the technical expertise behind the sound, the technological wizardry behind the lights show, the artistry behind a perfectly delivered setlist. 

To the 99% of you who saw this as a positive thing, thank you. This is my little Internet shout-out to everyone who helped. You all are incredible. I am so proud to be friends with you, to work with you, to share this with you. Last Saturday, you showed the campus and the administration something incredibly important. We can dance without getting out of control. We can move into this century without compromising our morals. We proved that really what Wheaton wants when we go to clubs is time to hang out with our friends in a new setting, let our hair down, have fun, de-stress and go crazy in the best sense of the word. We proved that house and club music is not inherently bad, that blacklights do not signify sketchiness.

The pure joy that showed through your dancing, jumping, laughing, singing, smiling and DJ-ing made it all worth it.

I am incredibly proud to be a member of the Class of 2014, in so many more things than this. We're movers and shakers. We're revolution starters. We're passionate. And this is just the beginning.

Addendum: my grandmother, Wheaton Class of 1962, just saw the video for the blacklight dance (http://vimeo.com/31673252) and said "Oh my, those kids look like they're having fun. Wow I wish we had had stuff like that."