Prefect Council hosted the first Coffeehouse of the year in Chalmers lounge after school Oct. 31. The Halloween-themed event featured performances from students in music, comedy and poetry. Prefect Council provided coffee and bundt cakes for all attendees.

Sophomore Prefect Eric Lee ’25 said his hope for the Coffeehouses is that they will help connect students with each other in an informal setting.

“I hope that the coffeehouses will not only bring the community together but also provide a chance for students to relieve their stress and share their talents with everyone,” Lee said. “Coffeehouse gives everybody the chance to share their creativity with the rest of the community. The environment is so low stress so there’s nothing wrong with messing up because everyone else just encourages the performer.”

Instead of having faculty moderators or organizers, all Coffeehouse events are student-run. Lee said having students plan and execute such events contributes to the relaxed atmosphere of the event.

“I feel like having a student-operated event is special because it makes other students feel more carefree about the event,” Lee said. “The casualness of Coffeehouse is what makes it unique. Having student moderators and student organizers allows people to freely make jokes and have more fun.”

Whitney Enenstein ’24, who sang and played guitar, said she enjoys performing and hopes that more students will participate in future coffeehouses.

“I love performing and sharing my passions with others, so I take every opportunity I can to perform,” Enenstein said. “As Prefect Council has hosted more coffeehouses, more people have come to support their classmates and friends, and I feel like it has really helped to bring people together. It’s important to encourage more students to perform. It’s easy for students to be nervous or intimidated to perform, which I totally understand and can relate to. However, I hope that people can come to these events and see how supportive the environment is and that this will encourage more people to perform in future coffeehouses.”

Nate Arnold ’25, who performed an original song, said he appreciates the chance to sing in front of an audience.

“I love to write songs, and Coffeehouse gave me the opportunity of playing them that I’ve been looking for,” Arnold said. “As someone who can get nervous when performing in front of people, Coffeehouse gave me an opportunity to gain experience and get my nerves under control. I loved being able to perform my songs and I loved hearing the amazing voices of all the incredibly talented people who also performed.”

After the scheduled performances, students were able to give impromptu performances. Ava Hakakha ’25 said she likes that students can perform without signing up before the event.

“I think it’s cool that people can just go up and perform,” Hakakha said. “It definitely adds to the overall laid-back vibe of the event and it makes it more fun for everyone watching.”

Prefect Council will continue to host more Coffeehouses and similar showcase events throughout the year for students, according to Lee.