On Dec. 4, NYU Shanghai freshmen joined together at the Kerry Hotel in Pudong to celebrate the end of the semester at the 2nd Annual Amethyst Ball. This year, the Events Committee, a standing committee of the NYU Shanghai Student Government, along with the Class of 2018 Representative Committee decided to continue the tradition by making Amethyst a freshmen only event. The Class of 2017 created the Amethyst tradition (named after NYU’s own stunning shade of purple) at the end of the first semester of the 2013-2014 academic year. The event aimed to bring the inaugural class closer together in a non-academic setting. However, this year saw a change of scenery. Due to the desire to further the tradition and hold the event in a non-academic setting, both committees decided to move the event to a hotel. Jeremy Hissong, a Global Leadership Fellow in charge with managing the Amethyst event, said “The Events Committee investigated into a lot of possible venues, and worked very hard to find a good space for the event. In the end, the committee chose the Kerry hotel because of the excellent facilities, and their staff’s dedication to making the event as awesome as it could possibly be.” The Kerry Hotel did indeed prove to be a great venue. Nearly 200 freshmen filled up the elegant ballroom, which was complete with standing cocktail tables, a stage, a dance floor, and two buffet lines. Hors d'oeuvres and unlimited refreshments were served to the guests all throughout night. The freshmen were also treated to two photo booths with funny props that made for great photos documenting the night. Once all the guests were brought into the ballroom, Class of 2018 representative, Wesley Livingstone, officially commenced Amethyst 2014 with a toast celebrating the accomplishments of the freshmen class thus far. As the freshmen raised their glasses, a photomontage filled with photos of the Class of 2018 enjoying events such as SH’MASH, the Orientation flash mob, floor events, and the Yale NUS basketball game, were projected on a screen above the stage. After the montage, an open-mic style show began on stage. Performances ranged from incredible saxophone playing by Howard Wang to Quinn McHale’s extraordinary rendition of slam poetry. Freshmen, Sevi Reyes, Jackson Liu, and Aaiz Khan, all gave stunning vocal performances, which soon had the audience swaying to the music and singing along. Freshmen attendee, Maddie Stover, loved the performances, stating “I really appreciated the courage it took for my classmates to get up on the stage and perform. It really added a sense of community to the whole event.” After the last performance, the lights dimmed, dance music played from the speakers and guests took to the floor to celebrate the end of the Ball. Sophomore Amethyst project manager, Louise Cai, said “Everyone in our group did their job perfectly and it is their effort that made Amethyst happen!” The Events Committee and Class of 2018 Representative Committee would like to thank all who attend the event and all those who worked so hard to make the Amethyst 2014 Ball such a success! [cincopa AkEAKJsi-p7i] This article was written by Annie Seaman. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Annie Seaman and Michelle Huang