A glamorous Valentine's Day evening full of dancing, drinks, cocktails and crudites is within your reach this Feb. 14. Not at a glamorous downtown nightclub but at the University's own Alumni Hall, at the Valentine's Semi-formal Dance cosponsored by the Queer Student Union and the Serpentine Society.
"We don't want it to be a queer event," QSU President, Mike Maszaros said, "but an event for everyone at the University."
According to Maszaros, the dance is open to singles and couples, homosexual and heterosexual alike. "We've made flyers to attract a diverse group of people, couples and singles. We didn't want it to be a date function," Maszaros said.
In fact, the QSU also has opened the dance to students at neighboring colleges. Students from Virginia Tech, Lynchburg College, Radford, James Madison, Old Dominion Univeristy, George Mason and Virginia Commonwealth Univeristy all have been contacted and invited to attend.
Dance attendees must pay a $5 entrance fee and present a valid state ID verifying that they are 18 or over. Those over 21 can enjoy the free open bar included with the admission fee. Light hors d'oeuvres, crudites, cookies and drinks provided by Simply Delicious Catering also are free with admission.
As the name of the event implies, dress for the dance is semi-formal, a term which Maszaros clarifies as "for men, at least a tie, preferably a coat. For women, at least dressy pants and a nice top, and preferably a cocktail dress."
Attendees should wear clothes they can dance in, however, because the event features DJ Randall. Randall is a University student who will be spinning dance music and requests throughout the evening.
After much work to get the dance off the ground, Maszaros said he is looking forward to the event with anticipation. His hope for the night is that "people show up, are stunned by the wonderful music, gorgeous people and think, 'wow, the QSU did this.'"
Not looking for a financial profit, the QSU hopes only to break even with the dance's expenses. For Maszaros, the night will be a success if attendants realize that the QSU, "really is open to the whole University community, and also get to meet people they've probably never met before."