On Saturday, May 3rd, the annual 3/4 ball was held at Choate. Despite what its name may seem to imply, this dance does not celebrate the students’ completion of 75 % of the school year. Rather, it is a dance that celebrates being in the third or fourth form at Choate: only third and fourth formers are invited to attend the dance.
Every year, however, the seniors and juniors manage to sneak over to the event and, somehow, annoy the freshman and sophomores. This year, they set off a stink bomb in the middle of the room after ten p.m. Several of the dancers, consequently, decided to leave the building, where they were shot with water guns.
Alex Brake ’11 commented that the dance was, overall, fun. “I thought the turn-out was good,” she said. She explained that she did not notice too many missing third formers from the group.
Cason Crane ’11 also said that he saw several people there; however, he was not as enthusiastic about the end result. “I actually left after an hour because I was actually kind of bored,” he admitted. “Dances with the whole school are more fun…If the dance were not just limited to third and fourth formers, it would be better.”
Several students sounded neutral when asked about the DJ. Caroline Gregory ’10 commented that the DJ played too many slow songs, but that the music he played was, in general, enjoyable. Robbie Pelletier ’11 said he liked the DJ but thought “he talked a bit too much.” Crane ’11 said that the DJ was simply “fine.”
Although most of the students had similar views about the music, everyone seemed to have different opinions about the upper-classmen’s decision either to throw water balloons or shoot water guns at the younger students each year. Pelletier ’11 said, “I don’t mind it. It’s kind of tradition.”
Amy Gobel ’08, on the other hand, had a totally different opinion. She said, “It’s really just hazing, which is not something any high school should encourage. It may be a tradition for the upper-classmen, but because people have done it in the past doesn’t make it OK.” She also commented that she thought it might be a good idea to have security more involved in the matter, although several faculty members patrol the grounds, making sure few upper formers get away with their pranks. Gobel was disappointed with the lack of student cooperation. “It’s kind of sad that we have to resort to using brute force to protect our students.”
However, some freshmen did not mind the prank. “It was kind of expected,” Brake ’11 commented. “I don’t think there were quite that many people that got wet.” She stressed, however, that the upper formers’ had a poor aim, exclaiming, “Note to juniors: You’re aim is horrible. Work on it!”
