DJ T-James won the Headphone Party: Battle of the DJs, the second event hosted by Student Affairs’ “Dawgs After Dark” initiative. This event, sponsored by Mississippi State University’s Center for Student Activities and the National Pan-Hellenic Council was held in the Colvard Student Union last Saturday, and featured free food, custom tumblers and a swath of incredible music.
Students donned illuminating headphones, all synced to three separate DJ channels. The colors indicated the channel, allowing the DJs to battle for air-wave domination. 
Chris Hawkins, the coordinator for the event, had near-perfect expectations for the large turnout, and gave a joyous remark about his general outlook toward the party.
“It’s an excellent after-school event that I’m sure many will enjoy,” Hawkins said.
The competition included DJ AD, DJ T-James and DJ C Dunn, each performing and working hard to please the participants at three respective battle-stations. DJ T-James was given the red channel, focusing on faster dance music. DJ AD held the blue channel, tailoring toward slower jams, which frequently pleased female attendants. The middling channel was run by DJ C Dunn, who played variety, classics and some occasional hits.
Maddie Blundon, a graduate assistant for the center of student activities, added toward the nature of the event and how it would impact the student body.
“We’re really looking to cultivate a fun environment, one that can include everyone,” Blundon said.
The party began at 8 p.m. with approximately 50 attendees. However, the numbers quickly rose into well over 200 attendees within the first hour. The reactions were fantastic, as many students appeared to be thoroughly enjoying themselves.
The competition officially started at 9:30 p.m., featuring three distinct rounds. The first was throwback tunes before 2010, followed by R&B and concluded by a five-minute artist choice mix. The reactions varied, but the enthusiasm and rhythm was infectious. The results were close, but the winner was the red channel, led by DJ T-James. Following the competition, the channels re-opened for more assorted dancing.
Many of the attending students danced along, bobbing and nodding to some of their favorite tracks. A few were more captivated by the music than others, but the bulk were dancing along cheerfully. Some tracks induced large reactions, but the music was diverse enough to capture everyone’s attention.
Clarissa Rook, an MSU student and attendee, said she thoroughly enjoyed the high-paced energy of the event.
“I’ve had a great time. This has been really fun, and I’d definitely return for another event,” Rook said.
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Editor’s note: The article originally incorrectly stated DJ AD won the competition, and was corrected to stating DJ T-James as the winner.