The Grad Ball

Your time at the University of Southampton starts and ends, rather fittingly, with a ball.

Before you arrive at university you can select and buy tickets to a whole host of fresher events and activities, one of which is the Freshers’ Ball. I remember sitting down and scrolling through all the available tickets on the SUSU Box Office and then double- and triple-checking to make sure I had selected to attend the Freshers’ Ball.  Once at university, Freshers’ fortnight flew by and before I knew it the Freshers’ Ball was upon us and it signalled the end of the Fresher-orientated events and also the start of my life at Southampton.

Although, as I mentioned in my last blog, I am not quite at the end of my university life, it is the finish line for the majority of my year’s intake and hence I decided to attend the Grad Ball. I also decided to enter a competition run by the Students' Union where you had to nominate a friend to buy a ticket and if they did, you were entered into a draw to have the price of your ticket refunded. I initially didn’t hear back, so I assumed I didn’t get selected, but then to my surprise a few weeks ago I received an email congratulating me on winning. I was over the moon! Not only did I get to attend for free, but the friend that I nominated also received vouchers that could be redeemed for free drinks on the night.

After months of waiting, the Grad Ball was finally upon us. The evening began by dressing up in my smartest attire and then gathering with several friends for a lengthy photograph taking session, before we headed down to Oceana, which is situated down near the port of Southampton.

Smart attire means a photo opportunity!

The nightclub had been completely transformed to fit in with this year’s Hollywood theme. ‘Grad Ball’ was spelt out in the famous Hollywood-style letters and a red carpet had been laid down to welcome us in. Outside, a whole funfair had been set up, which included the dodgems, a very fast Ferris wheel with rocking carriages, a mirror maze and the twister, as well as burger and doughnut vans. Even though the Grad Ball suggests a sense of adulthood and maturity, we all instinctively made our way straight towards the rides and doughnuts, before we had even stepped foot inside. It would also be fair to say that the dodgems brought out all our competitive sides, which naturally meant we had to go on more than once!

You can’t take the ‘fun’ out of funfair!

The glitz and glam of the Hollywood theme carried on inside; there were three uniquely themed rooms which all featured a whole host of live acts to suit the mood. These included the Doritos Mariachi band, members from Blue and a variety of DJs, but my personal highlight was the swing band which played in the ‘Gatsby’ room, called Speakeasy. The group was joined by a troupe of dancers and really fit the grandiose nature of the Hollywood theme, because they felt special and provided something completely different to the normal songs heard on a night out.

The Grad Ball went on long into the night, so much so that we saw the sunrise on our way home. The ball was a fantastic way to round out the year and was a fitting end to many students’ time at Southampton.

James