100 Nights: The Final Countdown

From the spring concert to the President’s Ball to the parade of prominent speakers—there are many events to look forward to this semester. But for the seniors, one night is especially poignant – the 100 Nights formal, which will be held this Friday night in Marquis. 

The tradition of 100 Nights offers seniors an opportunity to come full circle, especially if they attended 1000 Nights freshman year. “They are very similar events, planning-wise,” Assistant Director of Student Life Programs Robert Dustin said. “With a few key differences.”

One of the key differences is the presence of alcohol – seniors who are 21 are allotted three alcoholic drinks, covered by the price of the wristband. The wristbands, which are required for entry and available only to Lafayette seniors, are being sold for $30.

Unlike the 1000 Nights event, which is free to attendees, 100 Nights is not allocated a budget for the event. “We start at zero dollars,” said Dustin, who has been in charge of the event for the past four years. “The money has to come from the wristband sales.” 

Besides the drinks, the price of the wristband goes toward the cost of food and the music. This year the entertainment is homegrown – Jephord English ‘12, known as DJ Big Jeff, is returning from New York City to play at the dance. “There were multiple other DJs we were looking at,” said Dustin. “And people were like, ‘why don’t we bring back Jephord?’… He knows the music people want.” 

Between the food and alcohol (both supplied by Sodexo) and the entertainment, the event ends up costing roughly $9000. Usually 300-400 students attend, which brings in about $10,500, although this year’s graduating class is bigger than usual, which may bring in more revenue. 

“Whatever money is left over goes to senior week,” said Maddie Laskoski ‘13, who is on the Senior Class Council. Because the council is only formed in the second semester they do not have time to input much on 100 Nights, but they are responsible for planning other events including fundraisers, the senior speaker lecture and senior week.  

“At first I wasn’t a big fan of [the $30 price],” said Joe Prati ‘13, “but I heard it was going to senior week, so I decided it was a reasonable deal.” 

The promise of a bigger budget for senior week is a very tempting offer. Though planning for the week has only just begun, past rosters – trips to New York City or Atlantic City, bar crawls, tickets to sporting events – set high expectations. 

Mostly, though, students plan to attend the event because it is one of the last big milestones of senior year. “It’s scary, one hundred days,” said Prati. “But I’m excited.” 

Though the dance is not exactly 100 days from graduation (it has to be on a weekend, after all), the sentiment remains clear. “It always ends up being a really interesting mix of people having a really good time, but also it’s the event where people realize their time is ending,” said Dustin, who has attended the event each year. 

“It’s noticeable during the event,” he continued. “It’s a fun thing but it tends to be a little emotional, in a good way.”

No one knows this better than the seniors themselves. As Laskoski said, “It’s the beginning of the end.”