On the first Saturday night of the National High School Institute, a group of cherubs held a dance party at Club JBou, the renamed fourth floor dorm room of James Bourne, of Los Angeles, Calif.  Jasmine Osby created a Facebook event, and all journalism cherubs were invited via the network site.

Music played during dance parties at Club JBou brought cherubs together.  People with similar music interests were able to bond and learn about each other.   

Bourne wanted to bring cherubs together with music and dancing during the first week as a way to meet new people. Bourne’s idea was based on Club MoMo, a dance party held two years before by community associate MoMo Zhou when she was a cherub. 

“When you dance, it opens you up to other people,” Bourne said.

As the night wore on, people popped in and out of Bourne’s room to check out the party. The lights were off and the small room was crowded with excited cherubs, but attendees continued to dance, Bourne said.  Hip-hop music blared from the speakers as people showed off their dancing skills.

Emily Hatton, of Chevy Chase, Md., said she loves to work out. When she came to NHSI, a new form of exercise came into play through dance parties on the first floor.  After floor hours, when all the boys left, the first floor girls put the air conditioner on high and danced.

“We break out the iPod speakers and let loose to burn off all those Hinman calories,” Hatton said, referring to the large amount of food consumed in the cafeteria.

After picking a song, some girls jumped up onto the couch and went crazy, while others grabbed another first floor member’s hands and just jumped around. No matter what, the girls bonded over the hip-hop and pop music, Hatton said.

Fei Chen, of Easton, Mass., said she is another active member in the first floor dance parties. 

“Dancing is a big part of my life at home and its nice being able to share that with the cherubs here,” Chen said. 

After starting the dance parties on the first week, the first floor girls said they were a main cause in making the floor members all so close. 

In addition, a group of fourth floor cherubs created a rap song about being a journalism cherub at Medill.

Marcus Schwarz, of New Rochelle, N.Y., helped create the rap song "Cherub Musik.”  Schwarz said he was listening to music Andrew Lee, of Glendale, Calif., created and decided that it would be cool if they rapped over it.  Soon, they decided to write lyrics.  That night, several boys stayed up until 1:30 a.m. writing the chorus and other verses, Schwarz said.

"We really became friends because we spent so much time on it," Schwarz said.

Hunter Bradley, of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., had guitar jam sessions with some of his cherub friends. After realizing he had the time to play guitar, Bradley got his parents to bring his guitar down to play in his room. Along with a group of guitar aficionados, Bradley played his Seagull by Godin guitar and sang.

“It gives me something to do on those long Saturday nights,” Bradley said. 

In these jam sessions, Bradley and Lexi Sasanow, of New York, played music that they wrote. Toby Hollis, of Piedmont, Calif., played the blues. Sam Wagreich, of Pacific Palisades, Calif., played indie rock songs. And Alberto Sandoval, of Fresno, Calif., played Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Bradley said that by sharing this common interest of rocking out on the guitar, he connected with many musically inclined cherubs.

While all Medill cherubs share a passion for journalism, they also have their own interests that connect them with other cherubs. 

“Music can be used to tell a story,” Bourne said. “Just like journalism.”