In celebration of the 81st Academy Awards, Hillel House and the Marsh Chapel Servant Team hosted Pearls and Pajamas, an Oscar party that blended classy red-carpet style and relaxed college life Sunday at Hillel House. About 30 attendees drank sparkling cider from glass stemware while lounging in their pajamas, watching the Oscars, playing Oscar-themed Bingo and voting on who would win which award.
‘While I wasn’t able to dress up in pearls and pajamas, I love the theme,’ College of Engineering freshman Sarah Griesse-Nascimento said. ‘The Oscars Bingo and the ballots are fun, and the reactions of the room are great. When the guy from ‘Twilight’ came out, it got extremely quiet.’
The entertainment began with rapt viewing and discussion of the Oscars’ long-established red-carpet fashion critique. General shock spread through Hillel House at Miley Cyrus’ multi-layered, bedazzled dress.
The night was a great escape from studying, College of General Studies sophomore Adam Korn said.
‘I think it is a great theme, but I have been running around and didn’t get to participate in the pajamas and pearls,’ he said. ‘But I love the idea of such a relaxed atmosphere for an event like this during midterms week.” ‘ ‘
College of Communication sophomore Alana Brooks said her favorite part of the Oscars is ‘the next day, when the gossip surfaces.’
‘I don’t normally watch the Oscars, but there is food and friends, so I like it,’ she said.
Hugh Jackman, the star of movies such as ‘X-Men’ and ‘Australia,’ hosted the 2009 Oscars, singing, dancing and wooing the audience. COM sophomore Rachel Levi said she liked Jackman’s intro.
‘It gave a good overview of all the movies up for awards,’ she said.
‘ The room remained vocally split between those rooting for ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ and those never wanting to hear about it again. ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ took home eight awards, including Best Picture.
”Slumdog Millionaire’ performed like Michael Phelps swimming against fifth graders,’ College of Arts and Sciences freshman Gabriel Khan said. ‘They might as well have just handed the movie an award for ‘Film of the Century.”
Although the room was split on ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ the majority of attendees said they agreed with the Academy’s choice of Heath Ledger for best supporting actor for his role in ‘The Dark Knight.’
The Marsh Chapel Servant Team and several Hillel House representatives worked together to ensure all the food was kosher and served elegantly just minutes before’ guests arrived.’
This was the first year the event took place, co-coordinator Ellie Lucash, a School of Hospitality Administration sophomore, said.
‘This is a first-time thing, but hopefully the beginning of a long-standing tradition,’ she said.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
