A UTA student wins best outfit during an Emo Night event Feb. 24 in the Bluebonnet Ballroom. She received a gift bag as a reward.
On Tuesday night, the Bluebonnet Ballroom transformed into a club-like scene with vivid flashing lights, a DJ and a crowd of students dressed in hardcore punk outfits and makeup, contrasting their laughter filling the dance floor.
In every corner, students showed off their bold eyeshadow, piercings galore and silver clusters of chains and belts. The song “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus rang from the speakers while everyone raced to the dance floor, swinging their heads to the beat.
If it’s not obvious yet, it’s Emo Night at UTA.
Emo nights are characterized by parties catered to alternative, emo and early 2000s pop-punk music, connecting fans and bringing a sense of welcoming community.
Hosted by EXCEL Campus Activities, the event offered more than a DJ booth; it gave students the chance to enter an emo costume contest.
Event chair Ruby Tavera said she felt the event was needed for students who resonate with emo culture to find themselves in their element.
“We haven’t had enough events for more alternative people,” Tavera said. “As someone who loves alternative music, I really love being able to be part of this event.”
Real estate senior Kai Johnson said she wanted to get herself out there and try something new.
Dakota Jimenez DJs during an Emo Night event Feb. 24 in the Bluebonnet Ballroom. Jimenez has DJed multiple events around Dallas-Fort Worth.
“I dress like this all the time,” Johnson said. “So I really came here for inspiration, because I see other people dressing this way, and I’m like, I need something other than Pinterest, so now I can look at other people, and then I can steal their outfits later on.”
On the other hand, students like nursing freshman Taylor Anglin may not dress the part but connect with the culture.
“Honestly, it’s kind of just the alternativeness of it; it’s not really about standing out,” Anglin said. “It’s somewhere where I feel like I fit, and people are free to just kind of be more on the emotional side and just be themselves.”
Other students wanted to embrace nostalgia.
“I had a really bad, well, a really deep emo phase in middle school, and I had to honor my youth by coming here,” English junior Vanna Le said.
When expressing oneself in fashion, Le said to just do it.
“We all die eventually, we all die, and we all look the same,” Le said. “We’re all just a bunch of bones. So if you want to dress different, if you want to be different, go ahead and do it, because we don’t live that long anyway.”
Aisling Summerlin, first-place winner of the emo outfit contest, grew up listening to emo music and described their outfit as not a costume but a daily style.
“Nobody’s paying attention to you. And if they are paying attention to you, if they are looking at you, it’s because they’re into you,” Summerlin said. “You should just keep doing what you’re doing.”