While prom season might be a high school phenomenon, NYU seems be getting into the spirit with a number of formal school events coming up this spring.

For example, the Inter-Residence Hall Council just held their annual Moonlight Ball this past Thursday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Other schools are gearing up for their own formals and banquets as well, including Liberal Studies’ Golden Gala, Stern’s A Night to Remember and College of Arts & Science’s Spring Formal.

Amanda Regalado, aan LS sophomore and chair of the  All-University Events Committee, said planning big events usually starts in the beginning of the year. 

“You have to find a venue, you have to fundraise and gain sponsors,” Regalado said. “The entire year goes into planning the banquet.”

Regalado said that the events are entirely student-planned. She added that ticket demand varied for every event.

Tickets generally sell for between $10 and $50 depending on the event. The attire varies as well from optional black-tie to cocktail formal, but students have traditionally preferred to dress up.

For CAS junior Sophia Takashima, dressing up for events like the Violet Ball was part of the fun. Having two years left at NYU served as motivation to attend as well.

Takashima added that tickets sold out quickly for the Violet Ball and Moonlight Ball.

“I sat there with my alarm on,” she said, demonstrating her speed of buying a ticket with quick taps on her phone screen. “Tickets sold out within 25 minutes this year for Violet Ball, I think.”

Not only do formal events provide students an opportunity to dress up and enjoy the city with their friends and classmates, they also create community.

“When we hold events, it’s to make the students feel involved, to be able to be a part of something, to create spirit within our schools,” Regalado said.

CAS senior Jane Lee, attended the Moonlight Ball this past Thursday. She said that the locations of the spring formals are a draw for students as well.

“For the [Moonlight] Ball, people are really excited to see the museum be transformed,” Lee said.

One difficulty students may face is reselling of the tickets. Generally, students are able to buy and sell tickets from one another on the Facebook events pages after their purchase.

“It was unclear until much later whether tickets could be resold, until a lot of people asked and emailed [about it],” Lee said.

Although there may not be a specific return and reselling procedure for tickets to these events, Lee said that the tickets are worth the price.

For Takashima, the big draw to formal events is the opportunity to bond with other students.

“Because we have such a big population, it’s hard making friends after welcome week,” she said. “Dressing up with your friends once in awhile is fun.”

A version of this story appeared in the Monday, April 11 print edition. Email Yeho Hwang at [email protected].