This year’s Headphone Disco, organized by the Schneider Board of Governors (SBOG), highlighted the effort to comply with the College’s COVID-19 protocols while still creating an event students would enjoy. SBOG is a student run organization that is in charge of planning events on campus. After the strict lockdowns from COVID-19 were lifted, students of the College were finally able to congregate with friends.
In the past, SBOG organized Disco in the spring and Remix in the fall. Remix is similar to Disco, but the event was unable to take place this and last year due to the College’s lasting COVID-19 safety guidelines.
“Remix was a big event. Lots of people from surrounding schools in Boston would come. It was a big, beloved event, but last year with COVID-19, we rewinded it and did it as a Headphone Disco,” Abby Lucier, the director of on campus affairs (DOOCA) for SBOG, said. “We are hoping in the next few years to bring back Remix. It may take a minute to ease back into it, but we are hoping to pass on that institutional memory of that tradition.”
According to Lucier, while Disco was a success, it was not what SBOG had originally planned.
“This year was not as different from last year as we would have liked it to be. Unfortunately, we were planning to do it how it’s usually done in a non-COVID-19 year: allowing guests and a more open dance party,” Lucier said.
SBOG was told by the College that they would not be allowed to have guests during the first week of classes, which led them to do a similar event to last year. The Disco format worked well for planning an event without guests, which allowed for the event to run smoother and with less uncertainty.
According to Lucier, many other organizations were unable to host their events. Once the planning was done, the event began. There were pizza and soda stands ready to energize Wellesley’s unknown dancers and singers. There were student and professional DJs and an appearance by the SBOG Frog. While this event was not exactly what SBOG had wanted, students still enjoyed the final iteration of the event.
“SBOG did such an amazing job planning Headphone Disco that this year and last were essentially the same, minus the masks. I think this year more energy was shown,” Shawfong Hsu ’25 said.
Emily Richardson ’26 also commented on the excitement and energy found throughout the crowd.
“When all the Taylor Swift songs played, everyone was screaming and dancing. It was so fun. No complaints,” Richardson said.
Lucier also noticed the difference in energy between this year and last. She noted that students were excited to attend, but she acknowledged there was still some discomfort regarding COVID-19.
“I think there is still some uncertainty, especially when some students are not entirely in love with COVID guidelines the school has set — rightfully so — but I think that students were able to feel a lot more comfortable,” she said.
Though Disco was not the Remix many had hoped for, there was a high turnout with much positive feedback. In the end, SBOG is ultimately grateful to be able to plan events in person again. They hope this is the first of many more in-person events to take place this school year.
