Aztec Nights are back!
Montezuma Hall was decked out in neon decor and party games for the “Highlight the Night” themed dance on Jan. 20 at 10 p.m. Students danced the night away with special guest DJ Joshwayy, sported new looks with temporary tattoos and competed in fun party games, including LED foosball, basketball, and air hockey.
The event was catered towards students of all levels. Grad student James Howard attended with his friends and shared his expectations for the upcoming night.
“Maybe I’ll play some games, and hopefully the dance floor gets going,” Howard said.
A hit amongst the crowd was the free food. Along with a pizza table, a multi-flavored boba bar was hosted by Main Squeeze Catering. Students could customize a drink with various tea and topping choices, like passionfruit green tea and lychee jelly. The light-up boba cups were a detail that complimented the evening’s theme.
“I love boba so I am so happy they have a boba booth here,” said freshman and student event adviser Ace Vo.
The “glow station,” a table filled with neon accessories, offered fun props for students to pose for memories in the custom-designed photo booth.
“The photo booth is always one of our favorite things to do,” said freshman Shellby Mills, a communications major. “I have a couple of photos from the past ones as well.”
Zach McDaniel, student life adviser for campus events and alternative programs, stated that the choice of a neon theme was not only to highlight the bright decorations, but also the celebration of the return to campus and start of the semester.
“We thought about who our audience was, our students, and when students come back we see a lot of energy, so we wanted to provide a fun outlet for that,” McDaniel said.
In regards to the activities, McDaniel said that the first event was a dance because students would be looking forward to “partying and dancing.”
“We were not asking too much of the students as far as participation in really structured activities and figured that people would want to socialize, so we planned an event that had a lot of free-roaming activities,” McDaniel said. “Whether you’re doing crafts or eating or dancing, you could still be catching up with people you haven’t seen since last semester.”
Various mystery surprises were dropped throughout the night to keep the excitement flowing, including treats from Caked Cookies that were revealed at midnight.
Toward the end of the event, staff members hyped up the growing crowd by throwing glow sticks from the DJ booth. Vo was among these staff members, and stated how this has been his favorite dance out of all the ones he has attended.
“At SDSU, there are a lot of parties of course, but this is a more relaxing thing to do because you don’t have to pay any money or worry about getting in,” Vo said. “It’s more like come, have fun, and if you don’t like it, leave.”
Information on upcoming Aztec Nights and student life events can be found on the Aztec Student Union website and Instagram @aztecnightssdsu.
