Yale News

The class of 2024 had a Sophomore Formal this past Saturday as a replacement for the traditional First-Year Formal that the class missed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first Sophomore Formal in recent history was held at Commons from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m., with the theme of “Old Hollywood/Red Carpet.” The traditional First-Year Formal for the class of 2025 took place in Commons the evening before.  The Sophomore Class Council planned Saturday’s event, and many sophomores said they were surprised to hear about the event when it was announced last week on SoCo’s Instagram page. 

“There were lots of people on SoCo who were working on the logistics of the event and its promotion,” SoCo PresidentLeleda Beraki ’24 wrote to the News. “It’s definitely a tough event to pull together because we have to work on so many things simultaneously, but I was super grateful to have a really supportive group of people to plan this with!”

Beraki was part of the planning committee but focused on “the administrative side of things,” including coordinating with the DJ, the Yale administration and the managers of Commons. She noted that the formal cost “a little more than $20,000” and most of the budget was distributed to pay for the space and the food. The food at the event included bags of chips and popcorn, as well as canned sodas.

Tickets for the formal cost $15 and RSVP was required. A limited number of ticket waivers were available, covered by the Sophomore Council’s internal budget. Many students expressed confusion about the price of the tickets. 

“The only negative part was that the cost to attend was $15,” said Ronit Gupta ’24. “I wasn’t sure why we would have to pay to attend a school event.”

Following tradition, many sophomores set up their suitemates and friends with dates for the event. This tradition stems from the First-Year Formal, where first years typically coordinate blind dates for their suitemates and friends. 

Since most sophomores missed their senior prom in their senior year of high school due to COVID-19, the Sophomore Class Council also organized a “Promposal Competition” in which sophomores were encouraged to submit pictures of them “promposing” to their dates. The prize for the winning couple was a “free dinner at a restaurant of their choice.” The Sophomore Class Council posted the pictures of these promposals on their Instagram page and users were encouraged to vote for their favorite. 

Viktor Kagan ’24, who is part of the class council, thought “the event was the best it could be.” He noted specifically that there were issues with the food and with the venue being too large, but attributed these issues to Yale, rather than to the class council’s planning of the event. 

But despite some of the problems that arose, students also enjoyed the event. 

“I thought the formal was overall pretty well-run, the music was good and the photo booth was great,” Gupta said. 

“The Pierson 2024 crowd is exceptionally fun to be around and we formed our own circle and enjoyed our time there — I really feel like the class of 2024 made an effort to have fun and generally, the event was a success as best it could be,” Kagan added. 

The Schwarzman Center is located at 168 Grove St.