A Freshman Experiences Loyola Palooza

The+annual+fall+Loyola+Palooza%2C+hosted+by+Loyola+High+School%2C+draws+female+attendees+from+around+Los+Angeles.++Photo+courtesy+of+Maya+Winkler.

The annual fall “Loyola Palooza,” hosted by Loyola High School, draws female attendees from around Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of Maya Winkler.

Anna Morello '18, Staff Writer

Ah… the infamous Loyola Palooza; yes, it’s that time of year again! Hundreds of girls attend this widely-known dance: some in hopes of meeting a new guy, some in hopes of having a good night out with friends, and some just because their parents told them to get off Netflix and socialize. Prior to the dance, I had heard a lot about the past Loyola Paloozas. I’ve heard comments that vary from “it’s absolutely disgusting and sweaty,” to “the best night of my life.” I recall asking Pascale Williams, currently a junior, about the dance. She immediately started to laugh as she thought about her past experiences. She gave me a heads-up about the amount of sweat present at the venue, which I was incredibly grateful for knowing!

Walking into the dance, I didn’t really know what to expect. In my head, I visualized a stage with an old DJ playing 2013 KIIS FM songs, a few people on the dance floor, and everyone else standing on the side complaining about how lame this dance is, and how they could totally go for In-N-Out right now. I arrived at the dance, and handed my ticket to a man with a Loyola shirt; he threw it in a giant trashcan in front of me. I looked at him and waited for him to say, “Welcome to Legacy! Come on in!” Instead he made eye contact with the person behind me. I took that as the signal to move onward. On my right, there was a bench full of girls with bare shoulders, and phones up to their ears. I imagined they were talking to their mothers. “This dude just like won’t let me through… my life is, like, over.” Moving on, I find out there are two stages: one with student DJs, and one with a professional DJ. I will admit, it was boring at first, but once more people got there, the excitement increased.

Around 8:30, I decided to push through the mass of aggressive, sweaty people to get to the center of the dance floor. After some hardcore shoving, the mission was accomplished. “Um… abort mission,” I thought to myself, as I tried to stand straight but couldn’t because everyone was pushing each other. It was like dominoes, as students pushed in one direction, others fell on each other and so on and so forth. Suddenly, it started to rain! I smile to myself and look up to check the clouds. Nope, it’s not rain. It’s the tall boy standing behind me, with a face drenched in sweat. Okay. I motioned to my friends that we should probably walk around or get some water, and they agreed.

After another round of pushing through aggressive, sweaty people, we somehow managed to break free of the mosh pit. As I stepped off the dance floor, I felt a breeze of fresh air. YES, FRESH AIR! Feeling the nice and clean air against my face was a major relief after being tightly surrounded by sticky, damp high schoolers. I walked over to the water area and quickly found out that you have to actually buy water. As in, the water isn’t free. As in, you have to pay for water. “You really should’ve brought money, Anna. Seriously,” I thought to myself. My friends and I were in need of hydration, since we had just finished dancing and screaming when the beat would drop.  Looking around in panic at the other people, drinking their oh-so-refreshing water, we finally found some friends who were willing to let me have a sip. In my language, “you can have a sip” means “you can drink the whole water bottle.” It was great. So just a PSA: bring water to the Loyola Palooza so you don’t have to see the look of your friend’s face when you hand her empty water bottle back to her.  Overall, the “Legacy” Loyola Palooza 2014 was a fun night with close friends, and I look forward-ish to the next one.