Michael Woodworh
Equinox Staff
Silence. No music. No beats. Yet, the dance floor is crowded.
Students are jumping up and down and singing songs that can’t be heard. The secret? Headphones.
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The students of Keene State College came out to the Headphone’s Disco, hosted by the After Hours Program, part of Student Involvement, on March 2.
This was the first late-night program put on, as sort of an experimental thing, said Jen Ferrell, director of Student Involvement.
Still don’t understand the idea of a Headphone’s Disco?
The basics are that you have two DJs simultaneously playing music that is transmitted wirelessly to the headphones that each student was given when they first walked in.
With these headphones, the students can switch between the two channels that are being played by the DJs.
“You’re going to a party like a nightclub, but instead of the music coming out of speakers, they come out of headphones,” DJ Vito Deluca explained.
“You’re in control of your own music,” he added.
DJs Deluca and David Taylor rocked the house and made this experience one to remember for the students that attended.
“It was a really fun experience,” sophomore Amanda Smith said.
“Even though everyone was listening to different music, I felt like everyone had a great time together,” she added.
“I thought it was really cool,” freshman Jillian Bower said.
The event was put on to steer students away from the party and drinking scene and towards the late night scene, according to Ferrell.
She added that there are a lot of students that don’t want to be a part of the party scene, or they are too young to go to the bars.
“I’ve found over the years that students are looking for something to do,” Ferrell said. She added that she wants to have a regular series of events next year.
The idea of having a Headphone’s Disco at KSC came from when Ferrell and members of the Social Activities Council (SAC) attended the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) in Hartford, Conn. in November.
When they were at NACA, they attended a bunch of activities, one of which was a Headphone’s Disco.
They liked the idea and decided to put on one.
The Headphone’s Disco headquarters is based in the United Kingdom, and since 2007, they have expanded to bases in the United States, Canada, South America, Russia and East Africa, according to its website“The hardest thing is to get the message through,” Deluca said. There was confusion before the event where a lot of people didn’t fully understand what the Headphone’s Disco was, but the After Hours Program put up posters, announcements on MyKSC, and publicized on the napkin holders in the Zorn Dining Commons to get the word out.
“I think it helps having something once so people can experience it,” Ferrell said. For four hours straight, people came and left, danced their butts off and made fools of themselves. If you took your headphones off, you would just see everyone dancing and singing at the tops of their lungs, most of the time not well.
“When you take your headphones off and look at all the people, it’s funny,” freshman Shane Kelly said.
Deluca and Taylor are professional DJs employed by the company. Deluca is a representative for the southwest and lives in Pensacola, Fla. Taylor is based out of Providence and is the representative for the Northeast. “There’s a small amount of DJs that interact with the crowd in this way,” Taylor said.
The interaction between the crowd and the DJs is most definitely not a professional basis. The DJs don’t just stand behind their equipment and sport dance moves every once in awhile. Deluca and Taylor encouraged the dancers to dance on stage, throw the beach balls that littered the floor in the air, and to sing at the top of their lungs. They made sure everyone was having a good time and didn’t stop until the last person left for the night. “Everyone seemed to have a good time,” Deluca said. Taylor agreed and added, “I think I went well. I had a good time.”
Although this event was a test for the After Hours Program, the event was a success, according to sophomore Hannah Gawrys. “I thought it went well for the first late night and was really fun,” she said.
With an event like this, something that can get out of control easily, Campus Safety was brought in just in case, to make sure everything went well.
“We want to make sure nobody hurts themselves,” Officer Michael Kocskis said.
Fortunately, nothing got out of hand and Campus Safety didn’t have to step in and break up anything. According to Ferrell, there were about 100 people on the dance floor at all times until the end of the night, which was at 2 a.m. There were a select few that stayed the entire night and had a blast the whole four hours.
“I’m really excited I came; its something different,” sophomore Eric Grady said.
Senior Pam Kann added, “It was an interesting experience.”
With the successful night over, and every person sweaty and tired from all the dancing, the hype from the event has been carried out the door. This is one late night event that will definitely be back again next year.
Michael Woodworth can be contacted at mwoodworth@ksc.mailcruiser.com