Bodies swayed in a strange, arrhythmic motion as sporadic shouts of lyrics were heard from the crowd. Yet there was not a single song heard aloud. Instead, Wellesley students were donned in glowing headphones with varying lights, each connected to a different DJ spitting hits at the front of the crowd. Occasionally, a hot song would play on one of the stations, and a majority of the headphones would switch to red. Or green. Or blue. For outsiders, the campus center lawn on Sept. 8 might have looked insane, but for Wellesley students, the annual SBOG Headphone Disco is a riot and a must-attend event. Convocation might announce the start of the academic school year, but the Headphone Disco announces the start of the fun.
“Headphone Disco prep starts over the summer,” said Kaya Crosby ’24. As someone involved in campus life, she knows the ins and outs of running an event as popular as the Headphone Disco.
“As DOOCA, I work closely with SBOG’s Parties Committee Chair (this year that is Krystyl Sengbe ’25!) to help plan out the event specifics. We have to reach out to vendors, contact departments on campus that we collaborate with to help the event run smoothly, and think through the logistics. We also work with SBOG’s Publicity Committee Chair (this year it is Em Kramer ’24) to come up with the theme idea and create our awesome spam,” said Crosby.
This year, the spam featured the familiar face of a headphone-clad Barbie, a clever reference to the hit movie of the summer. Crosby expresses that her summer was not only Barbie-filled, but preparation-filled.
“As the first event to happen on campus, Headphone Disco is always a little surprising. The planning is all done over the summer, so it’s definitely a big moment for SBOG to all come together to pull this event off during the first week of classes. I was really impressed by how smoothly everything went, and every time I was concerned something would go wrong, there was always someone already fixing the problem by the time I had arrived. I was honestly surprised by the turnout! We had over 700 students, so over one-fourth of the student body, and the lines moved really quickly this year. We accommodate so many students, and I was really happy with the turnout. I love seeing the campus community get out and have fun!”
And fun it was. As usual, the Disco was filled to the brim with smiling faces. Crosby shares that this year, it was especially victorious.
“I think it was a huge success. SBOG got a lot of feedback from the student body after Headphone Disco last year, and we did our best to make changes based on that. I think that this year we were able to mitigate a lot of the issues with long wait times, and I am really proud that we were able to do that. I always appreciate feedback, though, so if you have any improvements that you would like to see in the future, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or fill out the anonymous feedback form in my email signature,” said Crosby.
