“Once more, some studs with their tuxes, others with borrowed dinner jackets, will wend their way to the scene of the S.C. Junior Prom. Without doubt, it is the dance of the winter months. It has to be, as there is no other. Wall flowers and smoothies, some with blind dates, others with O.A.O (one and only), and, let it be hoped, no stags trying to wolf the gal from you.”
The Annals of Santa Clara: College and University, 1851-1951, Part 2, 738.
As we enter a new year, Santa Clara University continues to keep the campus closed and carry on with online instruction amidst the pandemic. Americans all over the country have attempted to keep in touch with friends and family as we all do our part in abiding to shelter-in-place policies. While the pandemic has affected many aspects in all of our lives, social gatherings at SCU are particularly missed by students and faculty. For years, events such as homecoming, balls, and dances held by SCU organizations have always been highly anticipated.
Dances have long been a tradition at SCU, often put on by multiple organizations in a year, these gatherings allowed students to get together with friends or even romantic partners for a memorable night. In the past, SCU dances often included live orchestras and other musical acts for entertainment. Prior to women being admitted to SCU in 1961, it was also customary for some organizations to hold dances in collaboration with other local Bay Area women’s colleges. Many of these festivities were held in large venues off campus with extravagant decorations, such as the dances hosted by the Engineering Society. On April 24, 1927 the Engineering Society held their eighth annual dance at the Vendome hotel in San Jose. The Redwood described the decor as such, “Featured in the elaborate decorative scheme was a large duplicate of the society’s emblem, about five feet in diameter,” which can be seen in the background of the photo above.
One particularly successful event held by SCU was the 1933 Junior Ball, which Bill Patz ‘34, writer for the weekly Santa Clara, boasted to be “…the greatest prom in Santa Clara history” (The Annals of Santa Clara: College and University 1851-1951 Part 2, 170). The Junior Ball was held on the S.S. California docked at Pier 39, making it the first SCU dance to use a ship as a venue. In comparison to the Senior Ball held earlier that year, the Junior Ball had broken a record as around 250 couples attended the event, thus making it the largest dance the school had hosted at the time (The Redwood 1932-1933, 121).
…when the familiar cry of ‘All Aboard’ resounded over the moonlit waters and the gang-plank was hauled down–but let me turn you over to Bill Patz who wrote up the affair for the weekly Santa Clara: ‘The engines slowly turned and the graceful vessel steamed quietly away from its moorings and made for the Golden Gate: China–and the tune of ‘Chinatown, My Chinatown’ we touched the shores of Marco Polo’s golden love; India and ‘The Song of India,’ and we were visiting a land of mystery and mysticism; Arabia–and we docked to the lilt of ‘Sheik of Araby;’ Spain–and the picture of ‘A Little Spanish Town’ danced before our eyes; France–and ‘Paris in Spring’ was in our very souls; Holland–and we were lightly prancing ‘In Tulip Time;’ Germany–and ‘Och du liber Augustine’ made us young again; then back by Cuba, where we skipped to the strains of ‘Cuban Moon;’ and finally to Mexico, enchanted by the soft strains of ‘La Golondrina;’ then back to dear old U.S.A., and Pier 39. And we agreed that the ‘All-American Girl’ is the finest girl in the world.
The Annals of Santa Clara: College and University, 1851-1951, Part 2, 706.
Led by Dance Committee chairman John Gallagher ’34, the junior class student congress spared no expense in providing the live orchestral entertainment as well as an elaborate dance floor. One additional change that was made for the festivity was that corsages were banned from the dance floor, which would be a seemingly minuscule detail, yet it was noted that many were able to save some money from this decision.
While dance traditions at SCU can be traced back for decades, new organizations continued to create memorable social gatherings for all students to enjoy. In 2010, the Santa Clara Community Action Program worked in conjunction with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance to hold the very first Rainbow Prom at SCU. Originally created as a response to a lesbian teenager who was not allowed to bring her girlfriend to her high school prom, this inclusive event was conceived as a form activism as well. Program coordinator for the Rainbow Prom, Julia Arcaro, stated that, “Our goal was to educate the community in some way that it wasn’t just throwing a big party” (“Partiers come out for Rainbow Prom”, The Santa Clara, Feb. 11, 2010). For LGBTQ+ students that attended Catholic institutions prior to attending SCU, spending a night together at prom with their partner was something they were unable to previously experience.
Reminiscing on social gatherings at SCU serves as a reminder that our community is one of the factors that makes our time here memorable. The opportunity to see our friends and loved ones on a special night is often a well deserved break from the stress of being a college student. But, with gatherings like the Rainbow Prom, it also asserts the importance of holding these festivities as it may provide a safe space for those who may feel uncomfortable around campus. Overall, the community of SCU is dearly missed and we look forward to the next opportunity to hit the dance floor.
Header image: Homecoming Dance for the class of 1946, from the SCU Digital Collections