On May 5th, third and fourth formers celebrated the onset of the school year’s final month in the Ruutz-Reez dining hall. Commonly known as the 3/4 Ball, this event is known to be packed with free food and refreshments, plenty of fun, and notorious senior pranks. This year’s was no exception.
This year’s 3/4 was filled with students excited to escape from the stresses of life at Choate. Ruutz-Rees was a frenzy as helium-filled balloons went flying and everyone danced enthusiastically to DJ Montez’s fantastic mix. All around the dance floor were tables with chocolate fountains, fruit, brownies, and drinks such as water and fruit punch. The people who were not on the dance floor huddled around these tables, eating these delectable snacks.
The dance was going very well when a stink bomb, presumably planted in the dining hall by a group of mischievous upperformers, went off in the middle of the dance. The dance floor was suddenly halfway deserted as people scurried out of Ruutz-Reez in order to flee from the odor. Little did they know that there were a few seniors lurking in the woods with water balloons, waiting to present the underformers with an unpleasant surprise. However, the security guards immediately took care of the situation by chasing them away from the dance. In general, people did not take offense to this attempted prank; rather, some seemed to find it quite amusing. Sarah Gromet ’09 commented, “I thought that the idea of seniors being chased by security guards was hilarious.” No other pranks occurred for the rest of the night.
One person who attended the 3/4 remarked, “I wished the space was bigger, and it would be better if we had it in the dining hall.” Overall, however, the 3/4 Ball this year was very entertaining and proved to be a great success. Towards the end, it became particularly amusing as DJ Montez convinced everyone at the dance to dance the cha-cha. By the time everyone had formed a long train of people and completed the same routine, it was 11:45 PM and the dance had lasted for almost three hours.
While the underformers’ dance occurred on upper campus, a Cinco de Mayo dance was held at the JJAC for the upperformers and anyone else who did not attend the 3/4. The SAC was decorated with streamers and balloons in the colors of the Mexican flag to create the vibe of a Mexican fiesta. The dance provided free nachos, salsa, and cheese dip on a single table near the dance floor, and there were refreshments such as Pepsi and ginger ale available for purchase.
The atmosphere of the Cinco de Mayo dance was more laid back than the 3/4 Ball, as it was not a major dance and special dress was not required. However, the Mexican-theme dance was not nearly as successful as the 3/4, and only a few small groups of people were on the dance floor throughout the whole dance. This may have been the case not only because of the massive crowd concentrated on upper campus, but also because the Cinco de Mayo dance greatly resembled a regular SAC dance. Other than the colorful decorations and the nacho
chips, the dance frankly did not have much of a Cinco de Mayo vibe. So few people showed up that even though the SAC had a piñata in store, they were unable to use it. The few people who appeared expecting an exciting fiesta were severely disappointed. Janell Boone ’09 said that “it was sad how only a few people came to an event that could have been so fun.”
The dance at the SAC was not as entertaining as it could have been; however, the 3/4 Ball, the major event of the weekend, was a great success. From the preposterous senior pranks to the grand cha-cha finale, this year’s 3/4 was a great source of entertainment for those who attended.
A group of freshmen poses in a picture before the Three-Four Ball. PHOTO/Contributed Photo
