Senior/PG Lock- In Synopsis
Written by Lily Wodzisz
After an incredibly popular and remembered TJ house lock-in, where students spend the night with friends, food, and fun in the school’s gym, this year’s seniors and postgrads were looking forward to celebrating the completion of audition season and college commitments. Due to space constraints, this event was limited to the first 100 seniors and postgrads to sign-up, making attendance a privilege that this year’s graduates did not want to miss.
On the night of April 25, the lucky 100 walked over to the Dennison Center at 11 p.m. to kick off the next seven hours of games, snacks, raffles, and celebration. The night opened with a long game of dodgeball with an unclear winner due to the ratio of competitors to referees. After the clock struck 12, a ceasefire was reached and everyone made their way to the snack station and either settled down in the gym to view a showing of Shrek, on the couches in the game room, or in the lobby to hang out. People were playing pool, foosball, ping pong, board games, and taking part in IRL Chandler Palmer’s Mario Kart Tournament.
As people got a second wind after refueling on sugar and energy drinks, in an attempt to make it through the next five hours, the Just Dance Competition commenced. Through multiple intense rounds, featuring classic 2000s hits, four exceptional teams advanced to the finals.
The raffle, a long awaited event, then took place where countless students won MoFro gift cards—ranging from $5-50—and IAA Alumni merch from the scholarshop. Now it was 2 a.m., and the less-invested participants opted to go back to their dorms for a proper night of sleep. The remaining troopers know that this was when the real party began, as friends started to get slap-happy, more games were played, and life-long memories were made as the night got closer to 6 a.m.
After this anticipated event, many students cite this as being a very memorable part of their senior and post grad year. First-year senior viola major Cayden Stathakos said his most memorable part of the lock-in was “spending the last few hours playing Catan. Everyone was just fighting the exhaustion to make it through the game.”
As we reach the conclusion of this year, next year’s senior class looks forward to this new tradition.