At 9 o’clock on Tuesday evening, the Hopkins community celebrated the ninth annual Lighting of the Quads. More than 863 students RSVPed for the event on Facebook, and by 8:45 p.m. hundreds of students had gathered on Keyser Quad for what has become an anticipated Hopkins tradition.
Sponsored by the Hopkins Parents Fund, the Student Government Association (SGA), the Residential Advisory Board (RAB) and the Office of the Dean of Student Life, the event kicked off with a speech by SGA Executive President Alex Schupper on the steps of Gilman Hall. He was followed by President Ronald J. Daniels, who did the honors of lighting the quads.
Hot drinks, including hot cocoa and cider, as well as a selection of cookies and donuts, were available at tables on the quad. The beverages quickly ran out.
For early birds, the RAB hosted its annual, long-awaited Gingerbread House Competition starting at 8:15 p.m. This year’s winner of the annual competition was “The Castle,” while “Gilman Hall” won the titles of “Fan Favorite” and “Most Spirited.”
Students were offered the opportunity to make their own LED Snowflake Pins at the Breezeway at 8:45 p.m. before the start of the festivities at 9 p.m. The class councils also gave out free gifts on the quad during the event.
Complementing the festive atmosphere, the University’s only all-female a cappella group, the JHU Sirens, wearing Santa Claus hats, launched the festivities. Despite a not-so-powerful sound system, the crowd seemed to appreciate the performance. They were followed by the Pep Band, Ketzev and the AllNighters with each group performing a holiday season-themed song.
A little after 9 p.m., Daniels flipped the switch, suddenly illuminating the lights wrapped around the columns at the entrance of Gilman Hall, in addition to festive lights on the quads across campus. The lighting was, for the second time in the University’s history, followed by an explosive fireworks show. Fireworks were introduced to the ceremony just last year.
Two years ago, the student body was particularly disappointed by the lack of lights at Lightings of the Quads. Before, the ceremony consisted only of illuminating the lampposts on the Homewood Campus.
“This year’s Lighting of the Quad was definitely better than two years ago, but not as good as last year’s. Last year, the firework show was more extravagant; it had a wow factor and ended in a bang,” junior Leah Barresi said.
The disappointment following the 2011 lighting led to particularly low expectations for last year’s lighting. The Hopkins community was, however, for the most part thrilled by last year’s firework show, a significant upgrade from the year before. When this year’s lighting was around the corner, students’ expectations were even higher.
“When I was a sophomore last year, all I heard the day after Lighting of the Quads was how much of an improvement it was from my freshman year. Knowing this, there was a good amount of hype this time around, but after again, not being able to hear the a cappella groups and witnessing maybe a 20 second firework (read: sparkler) display, I have to say that it was anti-climatic,” junior Liz Rha wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
Nevertheless, the Lighting of the Quads arrived just in time: following Thanksgiving break, and right before finals, the event was a welcome study break for students. As soon as it was over, though, the crowd rushed back to the library.
“I found the lengthy line back into Brody through the café more entertaining than the Lighting of the Quads itself,” Rha said.
Junior Raquel Cruz-Stratton noticed the same phenomenon.
“It was awesome to see everyone gathered in front of Gilman and to see their reactions to the fireworks- which were awesome. And then of course, the exodus from the quad into Brody was just so typical Hopkins,” Cruz-Stratton said.
