On Saturday, Dec. 3, the House of Margaret Thatcher and the House of C.S. Lewis held their traditional Christmas dance, the Red and Green Affair (RGA), at the King’s College. The night included activities such as a silent auction, dancing, a special musical guest, Rachel Freeman, a King’s alumni, and a community fundraiser.

This year, the House of Thatcher and the House of Lewis partnered with the King's chapter of the International Justice Mission (IJM) to turn RGA into a charity gala. IJM’s purpose is to end human trafficking, and all the profits from the gala went to support its mission.

IJM President Elinore Straughn said, “Our IJM chapter exists to be a community of change on Kings’ campus. We raise awareness about the magnitude of human trafficking, as well as fundraising on campus. I’m serving my second year as president and am humbled to oversee our advocacy efforts and exec team.”

The House of Lewis and Thatcher presidents, Graeme Straughn and Anna Adams, decided to reinvent RGA in another way as well by turning it into a school-wide dance.

“Historically RGA was always open to the whole school, but several years ago it was limited to just Thatchers, Lewises, and their dates because the student body was too big. I’ve had the dream of re-opening it to the whole student body ever since planning RGA as a helmsman last year and was so excited to be able to make that a reality this year,” said Adams.

By opening the dance to the whole student body, the IJM chapter gained the opportunity to raise more funds.

“We figured that making it a charity gala would spark some interest and we’d be able to raise more money for IJM,” said Graeme Straughn. “It's hard to ask people to spend $15 for an on-campus dance but if all profits are going toward charity, that allows us to throw a better event and attendees to feel like their money is going toward something important.”

Graeme Straughn also spoke on the ways that partnering with IJM helped RGA become a more purposeful event.

“I think it helped refine what felt like a high school formal into something weightier. Not only did we have a good time, but we wanted it to reflect a bigger cause and something that the King’s community cares about,” he said.

“I’d love for the charity aspect to become a tradition. I think it can be easy when we’re so busy with schoolwork and Kings to forget about the needs of the city and the world around us. I hope that RGA can remind us of what we can do to support the work of justice and mercy throughout the world,” said Adams, expressing her hope for the transformation to continue.

The charity aspect of RGA was a success, providing IJM with $1,175 in funds for pursuing its mission.

“[The funds] will go toward the rescue and empowerment of victims to rebuild their lives and independence,” said Elinore Straughn. “We believe that survivors possess such resilience, and just need the tools to see healing transcend the evil they’ve experienced. These funds will go toward rescue missions, aftercare and trauma therapy, and remaking policy that will address the threat of trafficking before it even happens. These funds—our funds, as King’s students—will help make hope a reality for victims of trafficking.”

Reinventing RGA as a charity gala, and opening the dance to the entire student body, were not the only changes the traditional House of Thatcher and House of Lewis event saw this year.

RGA was originally intended to be held in the City Room at The King’s College. Amanda Lutchman, the Helmsman for the House of Thatcher, was in charge of the event's decorations along with Johnathan Allen, the Helmsman for the House of Lewis.

Midway through Saturday, while decorations and preparations for RGA were already in full swing, the events team found out they would have to switch locations.

“It was a lot because after all that time of having this expectation for it to change so instantly the day of like right before it was very stressful,” said Lutchman, “I knew that we still had a job to do and we still had to put on this event that we were super passionate and excited for and it was super helpful that it wasn’t all up to one person.”

“It was really chaotic and frustrating – there was a breakdown in communication somewhere between our exec teams, King’s, and the UFT. But I’ve never seen a team of people rally so fast and execute so well,” said Graeme Straughn.

In the end, despite the last-minute switch, it seems that the school lobby was a more ideal location for the event to take place.

“By opening it up to the whole student body, we had a totally new mix of people,” said Graeme Straughn, “Between Elinore’s powerful speech, Rachel’s set, and Luke’s DJ skills, it was a phenomenal night. Throughout my years in student leadership, I’d say this was one of the best events I’ve helped throw…This was an almost 100% student-run event – which means we can make it happen again! And that other Houses or Orgs can continue to capitalize on this energy.”

Joanna Insco is a sophomore from California studying Journalism, Culture and Society at The King’s College. She is an intern at The Brooklyn Paper and is involved in ESTV. She enjoys spending time in nature and drinking copious amounts of coffee.

Red and Green Affair 2022 - Establishing a New Tradition at The King's College