BY SHAMUS TOOMEY Staff Reporter

Ending a ban in place since before the Civil War, students at Wheaton College got to dance on campus and only worry about treading on their dates’ feet — not on the evangelical Christian school’s strict pledge of conduct.

After 143 years of banning smoking, drinking, gambling and social dancing, school officials ushered in a new era on campus Friday night by sponsoring a swing dance in the school gym.

At almost any other college, such a dance would be inconsequential. But it was nothing short of a momentous breakthrough for Wheaton students, some of whom thought the day that they could dance in pairs would never come.

“It’s something we’ll always remember,” said senior Michelle Lasky, an archeology student from West Chicago who lined up with more than 1,000 others to get in. “My mom’s an alum. Now I’m one up on her. I get to dance, Mom!”

Administrators at the 2,400-student school perhaps best known for being the alma mater of the Rev. Billy Graham changed the school’s rules in February to allow for dancing. Drinking, smoking and gambling are still out.

“It’s not a shift in who we are at our core,” stressed Edee Schulze, dean of student life. “It’s an exciting development and change in how we’re able to live in the guidelines we have for our community.”

For the students, it was bliss.

Bright faces filled the gym’s entryway before the first strains of The Rhythm Rockets band.

“This isn’t something I expected to happen during my time here,” said sophomore Henry Chen, a sociology major from Maryland whose red tie matched his dyed eyebrows and spiked hair. “Before, all we were able to do was square dancing and stupid stuff like the Macarena.”

The dance was mostly wholesome, although two men in masks were seen streaking the lobby.

Not all of the students inside the gym were dance floor rookies. Many said they danced off campus, and several hundred practiced swing this month with school officials.

“A couple of the kids were really good,” said Schulze. “I said, ‘Oh my goodness. Where’d they learn that?'”

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