On September 28th, two of the Big Three—the Athletic Council on Leadership (ACL) and Student Senate—hosted a Decade Dance. Everyone, from the newly adjusted freshman to the college-application-swamped seniors, took a break from their various mid-first quarter assignments to get footloose with their friends.

Initially, both ACL and Senate had plans for two separate dances, each to benefit different causes. “Ellen Chang ‘20 had come up with the idea of a throwback dance while on our Big Bear Retreat back in August,” comments Caitlin Fong ’19, the co-head of the Community Committee of ACL. “With the understanding that we would need to get it passed by Senate as soon as possible for [it to be] a fall dance, we talked with Senate members in Big Bear. They were thinking of having another dance in the spring to raise money for the Senior Class. ACL and Senate came to the conclusion that it would be hard to get two new dances passed by administration. Thus, we decided to work together and split the profits.”

Part of the proceeds of the fall throwback dance went to Families Forward, “a non-profit organization that provides free education and social services to low-income families in Pasadena and Altadena with children from birth to five years old,” states Fong. “We really appreciate the work that they [Families Forward] do in their community, and it was great to be able to donate most of the proceeds to their organization,” remarked Peter Mugemancuro ‘19, senior class president. The senior class received the other half of the money raised from the dance.

Organizations such as ACL and Student Senate collaborate on a couple events throughout the school year–the Book Day Barbeque, for instance–all of which are successful due in part to the diligence of the organizations planning them. The Decade Dance was no different.

“The planning for the dance was fairly straightforward, and it really helped to have dedicated cooperation between Senate and ACL,” reminisced Mugemancuro. “I think this is a perfect example of a Big 3 collaboration, and I look forward to working together with ACL and SCAC [Student Community Action Council] in the future.”

Looking forward, Student Senate and ACL will be holding a multitude of fundraisers and events such as Senate’s annual Project Lightbulb opportunity for student clubs to obtain funds, and ACL’s car washes to benefit soon-to-be-named charities and the La Mascota 5K in the spring.