On May 9, 162 Milton Academy juniors and 62 guests attended the annual Class II Boat Dance, bringing the grade together amid the early stresses of the college admissions process.
At 7:15 p.m., attendees gathered in the upper-level of the Schwartz Student Center before chaperones ushered them downstairs to board the buses. On the 25-minute bus ride to the Boston Harbor dock from which the Frederick L. Nolan Jr. would depart, students sat with their guests and friends while eagerly anticipating the night. Boat staff searched students for contraband materials, and then the attendees boarded the vessel alongside their date, friend, or tag-along sophomore acquaintance. Edward Qiu ’27, a Class II Representative, reported high attendance, saying “most of the Class II student body went,” and that students clustered around the bottom floor for the DJ, dance floor, chocolate fountain, and drinks; sat around the second floor for socializing and snacks; and posed atop the top floor of the boat for pictures with friends and dates in front of the Boston city skyline.
The evening unfolded in a casual manner of wandering, conversation, a little dancing, and, in particular, photography. Aarav Agrawal ’27 recounted: “For a pretty substantial portion of the Boat Dance, it was just kind of taking photos and talking to people.” He noted that as the night progressed, energy migrated downstairs, where “lots of people went to the dance floor,” before people regressed to their natural habit of taking photos. Dasha Johnson ’27 echoed a similar story: “Most of the people spent a lot of time taking photos, walking around to find their friends, and just sitting and talking.”
A common theme, noticed Johnson, was that “a lot of people just brought dates to bring a date,” but she also commented, “even if people didn’t really know their dates, they spent a lot of time talking and getting to know them more, which I thought was really sweet.”
For some, the event doubled as a stress reliever. “It was a great break from the spring’s stress, especially since this is an event you sort of have to go to,” said Johnson. Eugenie Smith ’28 described the night as simply “a great time to spend with friends, and it was great to see lots of people having fun.”
However, not all feedback was glowing. The rain, which Smith noted flooded sections of walkways, seemed to dim the mood. Agrawal’s main gripe was the entertainment: “I don’t think the DJ was very good, but I know that’s also kind of a thing on behalf of the boat,” he said. Smith felt that the supervision was heavier than necessary, observing that “it felt like there was an excessive amount of teachers.”
Nine Class I, 24 Class III, and one Class IV student attended the dance. Agrawal said he was “pretty surprised by the number of people on the boat that weren’t in [Class II]” and Smith affirmed the sentiment. Qiu, on the contrary, said that he “didn’t see a noticeable presence of non-Class II students.” Johnson said there were “quite a lot of sophomores and a few seniors, as well as a lot of non-Milton people,” explaining that many came as dates or acquaintances to Class II hosts.
Students had mixed feelings about whether the dance bridged divides within the grade. Johnson was unsure if the dance “really brought the different groups of the grade together, but it definitely brought people within groups—or in overlapping groups—closer.” Qiu, for his part, had no reservations. The night, he asserted, “was exceptional.” As the boat returned to the docks and students filed in, laughing, out of the boat and back onto their respective buses to Milton, the annual Class II Boat Dance closed its 2026 volume, albeit a little damp and a little rowdy. Whatever students made of the DJ, chaperones, or sopping walkways, the event offered students a few hours to leave the grind of junior spring behind as they sailed along the Boston skyline.