By: Jasmine Morrow Staff Writer
On Feb. 17, the Western Oregon University Psychology Student Association put on a Sock Hop dance at the Monmouth Senior Center. WOUPSA, a psychology club on Western’s campus, spends a large amount of time with the elderly at the Monmouth Senior Center. The club decided to put together this event in hopes that it would bring joy to the residents of the Monmouth Senior Center, as well as bring people together. The Sock Hop was a way for senior citizens to remember the past by listening to music, dancing, and socializing. WOUPSA also includes the Western Oregon University Chapter of Psi Chi, the honor society in psychology. They have done many events like this in the past; reaching out to different organizations for different supplies. Western students volunteer at the Senior Center all the time, so putting on an event was simple.
Austin Gehrett and Haley Morris are the volunteer coordinators of WOUPSA. They planned the Sock Hop with the help of many other volunteers. Dezarae Collins, a junior psychology/social science major and WOUPSA volunteer, took orders and served food at the event. There was food, sweets, drinks, cards, music and dancing. Handmade decorations were all over the senior center, and homemade cookies were placed on every table. There were enough cookies for everyone who attended, and they were the talk of the event. By the time it hit noon, which was when the Sock Hop began, residents began to file into the event.
It took awhile for participants to start dancing, but once they started, no one stopped. Some dancers took off their shoes to show off their fuzzy colorful socks, worn specifically for the event. Root beer floats were served at the event and most everyone had one of those delicious fizzy drinks. One of the senior citizens, Beverley Shonholtz, went to the event because she loves music and is frequently at the senior center. Shonholtz loves dancing and she danced a couple times, but she mostly danced in her chair with a couple of her friends, and new friends she made at her table. She talks to a lot of the Western students regularly, so she thought going to the event would be great. Participants got to socialize and dance for a couple hours, as well as enjoy some company from Western students.
The Sock Hop was filled with talks from the past and reuniting with friends. The Sock Hop was a great success, with everyone that helped set it up and everyone who came, it was an outstanding event.
Contact author at – Jmorrow16@mail.wou.edu
