Kicking off a new school year is always full of traditions and changes. One of those traditions went through some major changes. The StewVille Mystery Mix took on a whole new look and even a new name.

Previously known as the Stewart Lawn Dance, the StewVille tradition took place on the Stewart lawn and was open to anyone and everyone who wanted to attend.

“It is a way to connect people at the beginning of the year,” StewVille senator Aly Brooks said.

In addition to the new name, the dance was held at the tennis courts instead of the Stewart lawn, it was on a Saturday instead of a Friday and there was a lot more security this year, Brooks said.

Another entirely new concept of the StewVille Mystery Mix was the incorporation of the “mystery” location. The actual location of the dance was not revealed until the day of the event, and included many hints given at different events during Traditiation week and in emails.

“It got a lot of people excited,” Brooks said. “It also made it different and fun.”

The StewVille lawn dance experienced some issues in the past, including many violations of the Big Three policies. Many of the changes that occurred were made  with students’ safety in mind and to ensure that the issues that had been experienced in the past would be avoided.

“I felt a lot safer, and there was a lot more room,” Naji Saker, an RA in Duvall said. “Last year it was on the StewVille lawn but this year it was on the tennis courts so there were no cars driving by.”

Not only did the location change to ensure easier monitoring, StewVille leadership also had security and supervisors in the parking lot, walking the perimeter of the tennis courts and checking Whitworth IDs at the gate.

“After the past years, the security was needed and it built a safer environment for everybody,” Saker said.

Ultimately, the StewVille Mystery Mix received mostly positive feedback from Whitworth students.

“When the DJ played ‘This is How We Do It’ because everyone was going hard,” freshmen Kieran Doherty said.

Whether the dance will remain the StewVille Mystery Mix or return to the Stewart Lawn Dance is yet to be known.

Contact McKinley Powers at [email protected]