"A Time of Celebration and Joy" at the Spring into Life Gala
Photo by Zoë duMond
TKC Students for Life (SFL) hosted a new kind of off-campus event, the Spring into Life Gala and Gameshow, on Saturday, Feb. 25. The gala gave students a chance to wear formal attire, feast on amazing food and watch or participate in a live game show.
The org hosted the gala at Hidden City Loft, a private venue for gatherings of up to sixty people with a view of the Chrysler building in the Flatiron District. Whole Foods catered a variety of hors d'oeuvres that appealed to every palette and dietary restriction. Three students acted as bartenders and served mocktails during the three-hour event. The venue and food demonstrated the effort that the TKC Students for Life team put into the gala.
Photo by Zoë duMond
Photo by Zoë duMond
At the beginning of the event, the SFL exec team members spoke about their intention to make the event a time of celebration and joy amidst the difficult news about the financial situation at King’s. Approximately 35 students showed up to partake in the festivities.
Kyrie Hall, a junior from the House of Corrie ten Boom, Josiah DeBoer, a junior from the House of Winston Churchill and Colton Taussig, a freshman from the House of Ronald Reagan competed in a game of life-themed Jeopardy for the prize of a faux rose and lights enclosed in glass. Hall won the trophy with a solid first place of 2400 points.
Kyrie Hall, Colton Taussig and Josiah DeBoer give the signed Bout Seven poster to Sean Ayerst, from left to right | Photo by Zoë duMond
The entire room then got to participate in a game of King’s themed Kahoot that asked obscure trivia questions about the school and faculty members. Hall, DeBoer and Taussig played together as “The Three Amigos” and won a signed Bout Seven poster, which they generously gave to Churchill senior Sean Ayerst.
Between the games and dancing, the SFL team served a custom cake with “We ♡ Life” written in frosting. The cake echoed the mission of the organization, which works toward “advocating for all life” through “inclusivity” and “advancement.”
SFL Exec team serves “We ♡ Life” cake to the gala attendees | Photo by Zoë duMond
Students who attended expressed that the gala was a crowning achievement on the many successful events that SFL planned this year.
“SFL has hosted many tough conversations that have stretched students,” said Elizabeth Kelly, a junior in the House of Margaret Thatcher. “Tonight felt like a celebration of that. We were free to rejoice life.”
Photo by Zoë duMond
Despite the cut in funding to student organizations and houses, the gala did not add to any financial burden on the school. It was entirely funded by private donors, most notably parents of members of the organization, according to SFL president Julia Jensen. Because of the lack of consistent funding, events as large as the Spring into Life Gala are unlikely to occur in the near future.
Jensen rejoiced that “everything came together. With the help of students from various houses and years, we were able to pull something off that was really big and really special.”
Zoë duMond is a sophomore majoring in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. She is also a contributor to The Empire State Tribune.