Once attended by over 180 upperclassmen, the Snow Ball will not return this year. Last year, representatives on the Upper School (US) Student Council discussed reviving the dance, which was held in January 2023. No proposals followed, and the Snow Ball has quietly dropped from the calendar.
Student Council Representative Jone Abadie ’28 said the Snow Ball was not discussed this year.
“I’ve heard stuff about it in the past. I know that Aparajita Srivastava ’25 was talking about it last year, but we didn’t really go into it in terms of trying to get approval for it.”
US Student Body Co-President Jonathan Andreoli ’26 said there were obstacles to holding the event.
“Former Senior Class President Haley Hicks ’25 and I planned out most of the logistics on our own, but in order to bring the event to life, we were told we needed faculty to support our event. By the time we started asking faculty to support us, it was already winter, and we hadn’t fundraised yet.”
Planning fizzled by late fall.
“We realized we still had a lot of planning and fundraising to do without much more time left, so we decided to save the idea for a future year,” Jonathan said.
Former Senior Class President Tim Guan and Former Senior Class Vice President Emma Maginn (both ’23) organized the one-time semi-formal held in the Nicholas Athletic Center (See Vol 51, Issue 7: “Snow Ball creates winter wonderland for upperclassmen”).
“The planning had a lot of sweat equity that went into it,” US Dean of Students Rory Morton ’81 said. “The Student Council from 2022-23 … had this goal and this idea that they wanted to do.”
A Student Council survey last year showed students were highly interested in bringing back the dance (See Vol 53, Issue 7: “Student Council hopes to revive Snow Ball in future”).
Mr. Morton had not heard about a Snow Ball proposal this year.
“If you can find a date on the calendar, that’s probably your biggest hurdle,” he said. “All the big events on the BB&N calendar, including prom, are planned a year in advance.”
Mr. Morton said students need to get behind an idea like the Snow Ball if it is going to be successful and well attended.
“Is this something kids are really interested in? The last group was really excited about the dance and worked very hard to promote the event among their classmates. I haven’t heard any type of discussion this year regarding a similar event. Over the last few years, students have not shown much interest in hosting social events, like dances, at schools. We have a much better student turnout for the proms because they are seen more as a tradition and rite of passage. Historically, students really support these events.”
Events aimed at building school spirit can fall short when they are not supported, Mr. Morton said.
“It’s disappointing when students give up a lot of their time and energy to organize an evening only to have a small showing or if people come and then take off early. Also, the school doesn’t want to be in a position where we are asking faculty and facilities to give up their evenings and time to help chaperone an evening event, only to have a small turn out or brief attendance. That’s not a good use of people’s time or resources.”
Opening an event like the Snow Ball up to all grades might improve attendance, Maya Figelman ’28 said.
“It would be good for kids to interact with other kids in different grades,” Maya said. “There’s a separation. You don’t really see that many people who are not in your grade or in your classes. Lunches are split up, so this could bring people together.”
