Live jazz music filled the humid air on Saturday night, as hundreds of students, faculty and parents congregated on Old Campus for Yale’s first-ever Bulldog Bash, a party featuring live music sponsored by the Schwarzman Center and food catered by Yale Hospitality.
“I love parties, and the night after first year move-in seemed like a great night to throw one,” Yale College Dean Marvin Chun said. “Having a central place for everyone to catch up with friends from different colleges and to welcome the first years made sense to me.”
Schwarzman Center Executive Director Garth Ross said that Bulldog Bash was intended to be a “celebration of what’s best about social life at Yale: the people” and that he curated an “intergenerational and intercultural lineup” to help facilitate social connections between students. And the Bales-Gitlin band, led by Yale history professor Jay Gitlin, performed classical jazz and dance music. Latin American musicians Chico Alvarez and Juan de Marcos Gonzalez, Baba Israel and Grace Galu, and Rimarkable also performed over the course of the night.
Many first years interviewed by the News said they enjoyed Bulldog Bash, which for most was their first large social event at Yale.
George Mourgkos ’22 said he appreciated the chance to “get out of the formal setting of orientation” and reunite with other first years he met during his pre-orientation program. Mourgkos added that Bulldog Bash was his first time seeing upperclassmen and first year students together in the same space.
Like most partygoers interviewed by the News, Alex Whittington ’22 said he wasn’t sure what to expect of Bulldog Bash but loved the music and was “pleasantly surprised” by the event.
In addition to snacks and New Haven pizza provided by Yale Hospitality, the party offered sangria and beer for students over 21.
Darwin Edwards ’19 said he was apprehensive about the party at first but found it to be a “really fun space.”
“I expected it to be a complete mess. How are they going to mix FroCos and first years and alcohol?” Edwards said. “But it’s surprisingly wholesome.”
Anita Norman ’19 said she appreciated the tone of the music, which she said was not too overwhelming for students who did not want to dance. As a senior, she added, she appreciated the chance to return to Old Campus — “the place it all began” — and catch up with friends.
Noah Cho ’19, a FroCo in Benjamin Franklin College, added that the party seemed to appeal to most first years, and even students who “aren’t really ‘party people’ were still curious about what it would be like.”
Alice Park | alice.park@yale.edu