Nathan Nozea, Staff Writer

March 8, 2024

In years past, Nobles has always buzzed with excitement as a wide range of school events descended upon campus. Whether it be Friday Night Lights or the Techno Dance, these festivities were known as one of the many highlights of the Nobles’ experience. Yet, following COVID-19, student participation in campus events has diminished, as more and more students opt out of such activities. Despite this growing lack of interest, this year’s Student Life Council (SLC) is still determined to engage the student body. From bringing back old events to introducing new games, the SLC has revamped its way of approaching school events in order to create a sense of liveliness in the halls of Nobles. 

SLC Co-President Tahira Jean Muhammad (Class I) expands on this point, as she mentions how the group is now incorporating student feedback into their events. She said, “[This year], with our events, we’re trying to listen to a lot of student requests…such as bringing in a new DJ or bringing back Techno Dance.” In addition to listening to students’ criticisms, SLC has also tried to diversify the school event pool at Nobles. SLC Co-President Matthew Loose (Class I) said, “One of the big things for [SLC] this year is trying to create a little bit of our variety in our ev

ents…in past years, the events were pretty much the same, just in different seasons.” 

At the same time, however, SLC representatives have become much more active in pushing students to attend school events. “[The SLC] tries to keep the [events] on people’s radar as much as possible. We let people know about these [events] as early as possible and keep on reminding them about them,” Loose said. Loose also discussed how the SLC encourages the senior class to attend these events for more participation. He said, “[The SLC] also talks about the events to their friends and tries to get the senior class out…this makes people more excited to go.”

Despite these new ideas and methods utilized by the SLC, students still have several grievances about the events, specifically with the music choices. Jissel Rodriguez (Class I) said, “The music taste [at these parties] is not my cup of tea…it doesn’t make me interested in going to these events.” Rodriguez also mentioned that the lack of friends at an event can make someone unwilling to attend. She said, “My circle of friends doesn’t really go to these [events]…that discourages me from attending Nobles’ gatherings.” Valeria Yepes-Restrepo (Class II) agrees with this take, saying, “[At Nobles’ events], people leave really early, and if other people leave early, it’s hard to stay.” 

Considering these flaws, students have a few suggestions in mind to increase student engagement towards these events. One of those suggestions is to simply bring more food. Kira Morales (Class IV) said, “If Nobles brought more food to events, that could be an incentive for people to go…at Fall Fest, not a lot of food was provided, so it was hard for people to go without any meal.” Muhammad also introduced the idea of the administration changing the ending of the school day so people could attend events. She said, “If the school can alter the schedule for school events, that would be great for participation…it would make students feel as though they’re not taking time away from their commitments and can take the time after school to have fun and go to these events.” Yepes-Restrepo believes that changing the music could also go a long way. “Music is key. [At Nobles], it seems as though we’ve always stuck to the same person, and when we try something new, it just doesn’t work…we need to find somebody who is in touch with young kids,” she said. 

This question on how to improve school events has led to many wondering if event turnout would be higher if Nobles were a seven-day boarding school. Yepes-Restrepo believes so. She said, “If we were a seven-day boarding school, more people would definitely come to school events just because they have nothing else to do.” However, Director of Athletics Alex Gallagher (N ‘90) disagrees. “I coach a team that competes against a lot of seven-day boarding schools during the course of the season on Saturdays. You would think to yourself, in those situations, ‘There are hundreds and hundreds of kids here. Where are they if they’re not at these games?’ They’re not there,” he said. 

As the school continues to re-evaluate its approach to captivate the student body in school gatherings, the SLC remains dedicated to their goal of crafting a vast array of fun experiences for the spring semester. In addition to having more small gifts such as donuts in Gleason Hall, the SLC also plans to host Fools Fest in the Omni and Flood Rink this year. For the first time ever, Fools Fest will feature a plethora of new attractions, including both an ‘80s cover band and food lawn games. Students can also look forward to Saturday Night’s Live event in the spring as well, as there will be both food and games to enjoy during the sports matches. 

While this year’s school events haven’t been without their share of critiques, it’s evident that the administration and the SLC are putting in a substantial effort to infuse student events with energy and excitement. If we’re yearning for the spark of magic reminiscent of our older events, it’s on us to fill the space with our enthusiasm and positivity. After all, it’s our collective spirit that truly makes Nobles shine.

(Photo Credit: Ben Heider)