The city that never sleeps came to East for one night as the freshman class of 2029 hosted their New York City-themed freshman dance “Frosh” on Jan. 22, 2026, from 7-10 p.m. in Cafeteria 1.
Planning for the dance began shortly following Spirit Week, where freshman class Student Government Association (SGA) officers met to discuss ideas and the logistics for their first-ever East dance. In early January, after intense rounds of debate in their weekly class SGA meetings, they settled on the theme of New York City.
“We almost decided on a different city, but ended up choosing New York because of its proximity and relevance in media/culture,” said freshman class president Aaleya Ganguly (‘29).
After selecting the theme of New York City, Ganguly and her officers worked on finding ways to incorporate the theme into the dance and the activities. According to Ganguly, the planning process was both exciting and challenging, as it was the first time the class would be hosting an event of such magnitude.
“As president, a lot of my responsibilities were planning, discussing, and finding out ways we could execute our ideas,” said Ganguly. “Once we figured out our theme, Night in New York, and secured the DJ/photobooth, I felt it was my responsibility to make sure that we had the time and materials to build props and add decorations.”
Students enjoyed the energetic atmosphere on the dance floor throughout the evening, the opportunity to take photos with their friends at the photobooth, and enjoying a treat from the refreshments table.
According to Ganguly, one of the hardest challenges SGA faced was getting freshmen to attend the dance, considering it is a much smaller event and often not as popular as some of the other dances, mainly Prom.
“One of the biggest and hardest things to do is to convince people to go, because there isn’t a lot of hype already built up for it,” continued Ganguly. “We made sure to make up for that by promoting it online and in person, having fun things like a good DJ and photobooth, and having food.”
200 students attended the dance. Despite not having as many tickets sold as the class would have liked, SGA officers understand that there are several outside factors that may have contributed to this. Being on a Thursday night, students may have been overwhelmed and focused on finishing homework, and some students may have had a conflict with a sports game or extracurricular activity that they had to attend instead of the dance.
“As soon as I stepped into the building, I saw so many people having fun and letting themselves go….and from an SGA perspective, it made me even more glad that people not only came, but stayed throughout the night,” said Ganguly.
Overall, the class of 2029 enjoyed a successful freshman dance, creating lasting memories that will only grow throughout their journey at East.
