On a Sunday in the weeks before finals, most students can be found at home studying, stressing, or waiting for winter break. 

For Prism, however, this past Sunday, Dec. 8, was an early winter celebration for students–a night of formalwear, fine dining, and community.

Starting at 6:00 p.m., students filed into the Student Center Eynon Ballroom dressed in gowns, slacks, and suits, giving old prom dresses another wear, and Converses a change of scenery. 

As students entered the room, the festivities began as the Gala provided custom mocktails, caesar salad, pasta, chicken, vegetables, and breadsticks, alongside a selection of cookies. The catered mocktails came with recipes for the refreshments to the gratitude of attendees. 

Shortly after dinner, the dancing commenced, with friends and partners alike moving from the set tables along the walls of the ballroom to the center of the room, underneath dimmed chandeliers and disco lights. The music ranged from Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco to Tyler, the Creator, and music from the animated series Arcane. Briefly, students even danced and laughed as the theme music for the show Bluey turned on.

The Gala was an evening of friendship and togetherness for the LGBTQIA+ community as students (and non-students, as plus one’s were permitted) listened to Queer music, and felt comfortable as their best selves in the formal wear of their choosing. 

Carli Sullivan, a sophomore at Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia, attending as a plus-one, felt the comfort and the formality of the event was important.

“Everyone was just so excited to be at the event. It was so cute seeing everyone arrive in their ballgowns and suits,” Sullivan said. 

Prism’s E-Board President, Mack Reilly, also appreciated the community of the event and the dress code selected for it.

“We have masculine people in dresses and feminine people in suits… people are comfortable here,” Reilly said. “We wanted this to be a place for community especially in the holiday season where so many people aren’t comfortable at home.”

With 99+ RSVPs to the event in advance, it can be assured that students wanted to attend a space like the Gay Winter Gala, whether to decompress before finals or find time to express themselves joyfully in a safe space.

This past October, Prism also hosted their annual “Sex Toy Bingo,” where donations went towards The Trevor Project, and students were able to win prizes. LGBTQIA+ vendors were also featured, truly making the night a well-rounded for-the-queer-community, by-the-queer-community event. 

With Sex Toy Bingo and the Gay Winter Gala being the two biggest events of the semester for Prism, Prism’s president has new plans for the future. 

“We hope to hold this in January in the future to ring in the new year for queer people,” Reilly said.

This would mean the Gay Winter Gala would be held in the spring semester, while Sex Toy Bingo moves closer to the end of the fall semester. Although the Gay Winter Gala brings a moment of relief to the end-of-the-semester grief, the Gala being hosted in January will offer students a sense of community to start the new year strong, confident, and surrounded by peers after a long break. 

In the meantime, Prism’s Gay Winter Gala became a refuge and party during finals for students with food, lights, and an environment focused on bringing queer people together.

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