Hofstra Hall, center of the university, lit up for the holidays

By Griffin Schmoyer

Hofstra Hall stands at the center of the university. Above, the hall during warmer months. Nearly every year, it is the site of a holiday lighting intended to bring members of the Hofstra University community together as the semester winds down. // Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Hofstra University’s tradition of lighting the historic Hofstra Hall returned this past holiday season, once again with spectators after months of remote classes in 2020 and even in the spring of 2021. All of the action was captured in the above video.

The ceremony, the 13th annual installment of the event, was the first for new university President Dr. Susan Poser and featured the Hofstra pep band.

The display is composed of about 3,000 feet of lights and took four days to put up, illuminating the hall and surrounding trees, according to the project foreman.

After, cookies, hot chocolate and other refreshments were served in the Student Center, with performances by Hofstra’s dance team and a cappella group, the HofBeats.

For many, the ability to come together as a group was a much-welcomed return to normalcy. Many undergraduate students did not get the chance to enjoy events like these during their freshman year because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the switch to remote learning. But with students and staff complying with vaccination and mask protocols, such events were allowed to happen this past fall semester.

The lighting was also a much-needed break for some students from the impending stress of final exams, the most anxiety-inducing time for them, as the semester wound down.