Fairfield University’s annual Presidential Ball this past Friday night was full of bright colors, Hawaiian leis and quirky sunglasses. With the theme of “tropical paradise,” Bellarmine Lawn was accordingly transformed into the beach vacation of our dreams. As a senior who has attended PresBall for all four years of college, I definitely think that this year’s PresBall theme was the best one I have experienced.
Typically, I feel that the PresBall theme is poorly executed and underwhelming. Whenever the theme is announced I usually pay no mind, as it never influences my time at the dance in any way. In years past, themes like “The Great Gatsby” and “2000s throwback” were fun ideas, sure, but they were not well executed in the actual event. I would never have known that PresBall was themed if I had not read the email advertisements. I had always been very underwhelmed by the PresBall themes and never saw a need for this event to be themed in the first place.
This year’s PresBall changed my mind, however, as I was pleasantly surprised at how well the tropical paradise theme was incorporated into the event. Right when I first walked into the huge tent on Bellarmine lawn, members of FUSA were happily handing out colorful leis and fun sunglasses in the shapes of pineapples, flamingos and all things tropical. I grabbed a blue and white lei for myself and a pair of pineapple sunglasses and was ready to boogie on the dance floor.
In addition to the beachy accessories, the beverage table was also adorned with themed decorations. Tropical fruit punch was served and the table was decorated with flowers, big leaves and fake grass which gave the beverage table a unique Tiki look. There were also colorful straws to make the drinks even more fun.
While the music on the dance floor was not luau-themed, inflated beach balls were being thrown around the dance floor. This created a fun beach party vibe while everyone danced around with their friends. Although I did get hit in the head by multiple beach balls while dancing, I definitely appreciated how the theme was still prevalent while on the dance floor. It was also really cute to see everyone on the dance floor wearing their FUSA-provided leis and sunglasses.
I definitely think that this year’s FUSA theme was the best one I have ever seen. I’m really glad that my senior year PresBall went out with a bang, and I will always remember this one as my favorite PresBall. When I was initially planning on writing this article, I was ready to speak about how PresBall shouldn’t even have a theme, but Friday’s tropical paradise theme really changed my mind. Going forward, I think FUSA should use the 2024 Presidential Ball as the precedent for how a theme should be executed.
Director of FUSA Programming Emily Aschenbrenner ‘25 shared, “Generally, we do a theme just as something fun for decor and giveaways—the same reason you would do a theme with any party!” She continues that a PresBall theme is “just a fun way to attract people to the event rather than just calling it a dance.”
When asked why FUSA specifically chose the theme of tropical paradise, Aschenbrenner shared, “This theme in particular we picked because it’s one we haven’t done in a little while, and it’s always a classic event theme that people enjoy. Especially for a school like Fairfield, which is on the beach, the tropical theme is always a fun one to celebrate.”
I think FUSA’s pick of tropical paradise was the perfect theme for this year’s PresBall. When I look back on my four PresBall experiences, this one will always stand out in my mind as my favorite.
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