Seton Hall showed off its national recognition as the best college in America for holiday events at the 15th annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
“Christmas spirit is universal and colleges know that when students are far away from their home, they need a little bit of that Christmas cheer,” said Christopher Benítez Cuartas, a senior journalism major.
The event was held in person and was live streamed. The recording is available on the university website.
Winston Roberts, assistant vice president of Student Services and dean of Student Engagement, has hosted the tree lighting since its inception. This year, he hosted the event with Kai Hansen, a senior chemistry, philosophy, and business administration major and the president of the Student Government Association.
Dean Roberts described what makes the event unique.
“You know, this being our 15th, being this sort of milestone that we’ve hit, we’ve got some new stickers that we’re gonna be distributing out,” Dean Roberts said. “Obviously we’ll continue with the blue Santa hats. We’ll have our student performances.”
Dean Roberts said he wanted more student participation during the tree lighting ceremony, so seniors could have “something big before they left.” So, for the past three years, a graduating senior is chosen to help host. This year, Hansen was picked.
“I’m excited to do this. This has been something that I’ve wanted to do,” Hansen said. “My mom, I think, is more excited than I am. Every year she watches the live stream and so this year she’ll get to watch me up there, which is exciting.”
Hansen introduced Fr. Colin Kay, the vice president for Mission and Ministry, as “Blade” before Fr. Kay got on stage to bless the tree and the crowd. The “Blade” moniker means that he “cuts right to the point” and “keeps trying to choose to shine like a nice, sharp, shiny knife glistening in the light of Christ,” according to Fr. Kay.
On stage, Fr. Kay prayed using his popular “be the tree” chant, something he said he hopes is “reflected” in all of us.
“‘Be the tree’ means we are called to shine, ‘be the tree’ means the lights of that tree are symbolic of the light of Christ entering a cold and dark world,” Fr. Kay said. “Let’s go, let’s go. Be the tree and get moving. Get moving and shine.”
Christmas at the Hall kicked off with a mass led by Msgr. Joseph Reilly. Before Msgr. Reilly took over as president in July, SHU had not had a priest-president since 2010.
“As a priest, I stand in the place of Christ during the Mass. And as president, I stand in the place of Seton Hall’s past leaders and current community members,” Msgr. Reilly said. “The joy and wonder of these events come from our community…but not from any one person, except Christ Himself, of course.”
Fr. Kay spoke on what makes this year’s tree lighting special with Msgr. Reilly now at the helm.
“Our Christmas tree blessing celebration begins with Msgr. Reilly leading our community in the great act of worship in prayer,” Fr. Kay said. “That’s something you’ll not find at your local, state, or private or even Christian college or university, that we begin in the chapel, and that joy and that light and that grace kind of spills over.”
While this is Msgr. Reilly’s first tree lighting as president, Dean Roberts has been hosting the event for 14 years. He said that production in the first year started off small, but to see where it is now is “pretty great.”
“I really think sort of the energy of knowing that we’ve been able to do this for this long honestly rivals what people may see [Dec. 4] at Rockefeller Center, as far as the size of our tree and the excitement that we bring to it,” Dean Roberts said.
He added that SHU may not have the “star power” that the Rockefeller Center tree has, but that we “certainly have the spirit.”
This year, SHU’s tree had over 40,000 lights, compared to Rockefeller Center’s 50,000 lights, according to NBC. Jeffrey Truskowski, the grounds director, and his team spent 15 days putting the lights on the tree.
There were performances from the Sapphires, K@SHU (K-Pop Club), the Pep Band, and the Theatre Council. The women’s and men’s basketball teams also made a special appearance.
Allison Sheppard, a senior international relations and diplomacy and philosophy major, is a Pep Band member who said she thinks the band’s role at the tree lighting is a great way to build camaraderie.
“When the lights go off, I think there’s nothing more magical,” Sheppard said. “As a Pep Band member, I love getting to play the fight song…I think it’s just the best way to raise school spirit.”
Dr. Brian Timmons, the new Pep Band director, added Mariah Carrey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” to the Pep Band’s repertoire, which he dubs “a modern classic that carries the holiday spirit.”
“Whether it’s the carols and hymns that reflect the joy and great mystery of Christ’s birth, or the secular songs celebrating winter traditions, music brings people together in a spirit of celebration,” Dr. Timmons said.
In addition to the music bringing people together, Hansen said he believes the tree lighting is all about reuniting with members of the SHU community.
“I think it’s one of the only times you’ll see administrators, alumni, faculty, students altogether,” Hansen said. “And then it’s also an opportunity to see students that you don’t have class with.”
Connor Powers, a sophomore economics major, said this is the only time of the fall semester that everyone, “at least for this one night,” is in the same place, at the same time.
It’s not all about the tree lighting, though. It’s also about community service and the university’s emphasis on spirituality, according to Dean Roberts.
“I think [our holiday spirit] is almost directly tied to our Catholic identity,” Dean Roberts said. “We incorporate things for Giving Tuesday, we really jump in feet first into the idea of servant leadership. And I think the tree lighting is just like a little cherry on top for people to have fun and get together.”
The Division of Volunteer Efforts (DOVE) is running its annual Love Thy Neighbor: DOVE Toy Drive until Dec. 9. The toy drive benefits several schools and agencies in Newark, the Maplewood-South Orange School District, and the Don Bosco Youth Center. In addition to local sites, DOVE donates gifts for impoverished children in Appalachia, West Virginia, as they have done for over 25 years. Each year, members of the SHU network donate up to 1,500 toys for children in need.
SHU is also putting on other events as part of the holiday festivities, like the 1964 Christmas Television Spectacular on Dec. 6 and the 13th Annual Pancakes with Santa and the Pirate on Dec. 7.
The night concluded with a light show at the halo structure in the center of the Green set to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “Carol of the Bells.” Students were also able to take advantage of photo opportunities under the snow machines on the Green.
Alexandra Carroll, a senior international relations major, talked about the impact of seeing such a large group of fellow Pirates altogether.
“It’s really important to get everyone in one place [to see] how many of us are really connected by the shared identity of being a Pirate,” Carroll said. “Just being able to get everyone together in a big open space to see the sea of blue hats and that you’re not alone here is really important.”
Dominique Mercadante is the head editor for The Setonian’s Campus Life section. She can be reached at dominique.mercadante@student.shu.edu.
Jacqueline Litowinsky is the head editor for The Setonian’s News section. She can be reached at jacqueline.litowinsky@student.shu.edu.
