We Have Spirit, Yes We Do! NYU Violet 100

Every year during spirit week, the Inter-Residential Hall Council (IRHC) puts on UltraViolet Live, which is basically NYU’s talent show. IRHC is an important part of the NYU community. Each residential hall has a council. They put on events in each hall as well as coordinate together and plan larger events for the entire community throughout the year. Some of the most popular events are IRHC’s Flurry (ice-skating in Central Park) and Moonlight Ball in the spring semester. But let’s circle back to UltraViolet Live!

The IRHC (including the Commuter Student Council) holds miniature talent shows and auditions in each residence hall during the fall or early spring to select a contestant for UltraViolet Live. One student group or act is chosen to represent each hall. Then, each hall competes at UltraViolet Live! It’s completely free for NYU students and hosted in the Skirball Center for Performing Arts. Fun fact? Lady Gaga won third place in the event when she was an NYU student!

Another marquee event is the Violet 100 Concert. The Program Board, a student-run organization, puts on a concert usually at a place like Terminal 5. They invite the entire NYU community to enjoy a night filled with music and fun. Tickets are normally distributed online.

The concert features NYU student openers followed by amazing performing artists. Previous artists have included Roddy Ricch, Pop Smoke, Chief Keef, and so many more! This year, the performing artists were Doechii and Earl Sweatshirt, and the NYU student opening acts were SOLA and Isea. It was so much fun and I made memories for years to come!

Next on the list is Violet Ball, which is one of my favorite events! The ball is held in Bobst Library, so the whole library was shut down for the night. There’s a DJ, food, photo booths and so much more. Not to mention, it’s a great reason to dress up and let loose with your friends. My friends and I enjoyed dancing in the library! (FYI: Music normally isn’t allowed 😉).

Multiple photo booths help students to commemorate the fun night and hors d’eouvres keep everyone’s tummies happy! Tickets sell out fast for Violet Ball, but it is so worth it!

Finally, Violet 100 closes out with the all-university games. It is a friendly competition between NYU schools, alumni, and different groups on campus to compete for first place! There are different games such as dodgeball, volleyball, ping-pong, and basketball. What’s more, NYU rents out Chelsea Piers for the event! Before the games, each team creates a poster and mascot to represent themselves based on the year’s selected theme.

In 2020, the theme was Star Wars and NYU Tandon’s mascot was BB-8! This year the theme was retro. For example, the School of Global Public Health had a retro-looking globe as their mascot (pictured below!). It’s important to note that anyone can sign up to be on the team of their school for different games.

This year, the Stern School of Business won the cup. Each team is encouraged to get creative with their school and theme to win the prize!