Bander. Is that even a word? It's not in the dictionary. I think I just made it up.

Banded. That's a verb. It's what a bander does. Banding is the act of wrapping a little piece of waxy paper around someone's wrist. The presence of the band allows the wearer to drink adult beverages. Banding was my job at Friday night's Torch and Trumpet Soiree, the Emory Alumni Association's annual dance party celebrating the Class of 2010.

I worked the ID table, where several of my coworkers swiped Emory Cards (the catch-all ID every Emory student carries). Those who registered as 21 (the vast majority of the seniors did) got banded by the Emory Annual Fund's Chad Wood and me. The whole process was pretty smooth. Not once did I see anyone try to beat the system. Heck, no one even tried to cut in line.

Maybe students these days just aren't all that creative ... or maybe they're just plain responsible. Either way is fine ... it made the job easier.

The traffic-cone orange bands clashed with pretty much every dress I saw (something that was mentioned to me more than once), but no one really seemed to mind. Our guests didn't even mind when I stuck the adhesive to their wrist rather than the other end of the band (this happened more than once too). Trust me when I say it's a bit painful to remove. Yes, the hair on your wrist comes with it.

One the soon-to-be alumni and their guests (which included siblings, significant other and lots of parents) got past us, they scattered either to outdoor patio, the ballroom (where the Gary Motley Trio performed early and DJ TJ 06C rocked late) or further down the hall toward one of several bars where they showed off their bands in return for a drink or two.

Like Thursday night's Candlelight Crossover, the students came in waves. One of the largest followed the conclusion of the 100 Senior Honorary reception at the Miller-Ward Alumni House. a large number of honorees crossed back over the bridge to the Emory Conference Center Hotel to attend the Soiree. The symbolism is kind of neat.

It's like they got to act like students for one more night.

-- Eric Rangus, director of communications, Emory Alumni Association