Vincent Leo

A summer trip to Las Vegas and a mustering up of courage is all it took for Rudalys Ruiz, a senior majoring in global health, to imagine her perfect social life once she returned to campus. Ruiz’s lack of a strong friend group on the trip forced her to take matters into her own hands. To create the experience she aspired to have, she spent the entire trip going up to random strangers, chatting with them and seeing where it would take her. Ruiz felt fearless.

If you’ve ever felt the need to write a thirst tweet similar to “Shawn Mendes can stomp on my body,” just know that it’s not as fun as it sounds — as much as we’d all like to get lost in his Japan. From attending Conquest and Springfest, there’s a phenomenon that has recently (violently) pushed its way into my life: moshing. So, what is moshing?

You can have the venue, the lights, the refreshments and the people, but a party is nothing without the music. DJs breathe life into parties, mixing the latest, freshest beats that uplift the dance floor, get bodies moving and create a vibe to last a lifetime — or at least one night. More than that, though, DJs highlight the beauty of culture and community with music.