SSU’s Associated Students Productions (ASP) took a musical approach to Women’s History Month last Thursday with “It’s POPular for a Reason.” Starting at 7 p.m. and concluding at 9:30 p.m. The pop-themed dance party took place in Ballroom A on the third floor of the Student Center. Disc jockey Allie Robertson, known as DJ Allie, hosted the event, which ASP assembled to celebrate the achievements and contributions of female figures in the last decade.
ASP members passed out rainbow glowsticks to student partygoers as they entered the ballroom, where they also offered water, soft drinks and signature cocktails in the entryway. Guests entered the room through a balloon archway passing an accompanying photo-taking area. Balloons were scattered across the ballroom floor, with two screens at the rear area and the stage and DJ set positioned between them. ASP also cast purple and pink lighting to set the tone for the evening.
On the right side of the ballroom was a table full of t-shirts and merchandise. The front left area had two collages. The first collage displayed female figures involved in various fields, such as activism, music, politics, and sports. Some women ASP included in the collage were Maya Angelou, Kamala Harris, Taylor Swift, and Malala Yousafzai. ASP also recognized movements such as Black Lives Matter and #MeToo in the collage. The second collage was a list of female-recorded songs from the last decade, ranging from Ariana Grande’s “Break Free” to Olivia Rodrigo’s “Bad Idea, Right?”
Robertson paid homage to the aforementioned women and movement in the first collage through the scope of music, chronicling female-driven achievements and contributions year-by-year since 2014. A pop song followed each yearly tribute in the second collage that a female artist had released during that particular year.
As Robertson jumped to the beat of each song, the crowd of attendees quickly followed suit. Nearly every student attendee had brought a friend with them, which eventually began to form into multiple groups. Every group improvised different dance moves to the music and even sang the lyrics.
I think the more people that come, the more fun it is — Michaela Wang
Fourth-year literature major and ASP member Michaela Wang, who played a part in setting up “It’s POPular for a Reason,” enjoyed the musical component of the dance party. “Honestly, Fifth Harmony’s ‘Worth It’ was such a throwback, so that was fun,” Wang said.
With “It’s POPular for a Reason” being the first event of its kind at SSU, Wang encourages students to leave their dorms and dance at future ASP-hosted events. To find more information on campus events related to Women’s History Month and ones similar to “It’s POPular for a Reason,” visit the “Event” page on Seawolf Living
