Hillsdale men and women dressed for an evening of magic: The 2024 President’s Ball, which Student Activities Board modeled after the Yule Ball in J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” took place in the Searle Center Feb. 17.

While few students owned cloaks, they managed to dress on theme. Freshman Ava Jolley said she chose her mid-length black satin dress for its adaptability.

“I bought my dress for a friend’s wedding over break, but I wanted something that I can use for President’s Ball too because what college student has the time to go dress shopping twice for events in the span of a month,” Jolley said. 

Jolley said she felt like black satin was​​ the way to go because it could work for both events: classy but not over the top. 

Sophomore Chloe Noller observed that one color dominated the night.

“There were a ton of black dresses,” Noller said.

Freshman Olivia Eames, who wore a floor length red dress, said she noticed many other girls wore jewel tones.

“It was interesting how many girls wore primary and bold colors such as maroon, deep blue, and bright yellow,” Eames said.

Senior Lucy Fernandes said she was lucky her green dress happened to go with the theme.

“I was pleasantly surprised though because the vintage quality of it seemed to fit the wintery, academic vibe of the Prez Ball theme,” Fernandes said.

Jolley said she was surprised to see how many men wore ties or bowties that matched the color and fabric of their dates’ dresses.

“I’m not sure how they had the time to do that or where they found the same material and color tie as the girl’s dress,” Jolley said.

Jolley said she found her black satin dress was not only practical but matched the theme.

“I think black is fitting for a ball in general because it can go with any theme,” Jolley said. “If you think about the Hogwarts houses, I think Hufflepuff has black in it, and I’m a Hufflepuff, so it worked out perfectly.”

Eames said she did not intend for her dress to match the theme.

“It almost appeared as if many of us coordinated with the Hogwarts theme. Although, from the girls I spoke with, it was just a coincidence,” Eames said. “I did not plan my dress either. It was my dress from senior prom, and it just worked out that it’s the Gryffindor house color.”

Freshman Michael Bogumill said he wore a light blue suit with clouds for a different reason.

“The suit is somewhat of a representation of being high up in the Rockies. It allowed me to bring a little taste of home to Hillsdale,” Bogumill said. “My Dad is also a pilot, so if you look closely, you can see that my belt is the same buckle that is used on planes.”

Senior Brianna Bertsch said she had already purchased her red dress before she knew the theme.

“Because of the dark red color, I wanted to represent the Gryffindor house of Hogwarts and even chose to wear gold feather earrings that were meant to resemble a griffin,” Bertsch said. “I think a lot of people did a similar thing where they made their dresses fit the theme more with accessories.”

Freshman Lydia Boone said students wore dresses they already had, rather than buy special Yule Ball outfits.

“It was kind of hard to be on theme unless you wore a cloak or something,” Boone said.

Jolly said she thought Hillsdale students represented the theme well considering it was announced after everyone returned from Christmas break.

“I was really surprised at how many people were able to be on the theme seeing as we were already at Hillsdale before the theme was announced,” Jolley said. “There were guys with red ties for Gryffindor or girls with green dresses for Slytherin.”

Despite the weather, Jolley said she appreciated a break from casual clothing.

“Usually we’re just stressing about getting to class when we wake up 20 minutes before. Sometimes that means you wear sweatpants for four days in a row,” Jolley said. “It was fun to see all of my friends dressed up.”

Freshman Hijiri Cramer said the weather made dressing up more difficult.

“Function is superior to form,” Cramer said. “I believed that a blisteringly cold night like the Saturday of President’s Ball should have warranted warmer dresses. I now have an illness due to the impracticality of my President’s Ball gown.”