Students grooved to the swing band the Rhythm Rockets at the “It’s a Swing Thing” dance. It was well-attended and generally supported by students and alumni.

“We had 1,200 tickets available for the (dance) and all but 10 were sold,” said Lori Hart, media relations assistant.

Wheaton’s undergraduate enrollment is approximately 2,400, according to the school’s Web site.

Dancing and alcohol consumption was formerly forbidden under the school’s Statement of Responsibilities, a document that prohibited behavior by students and faculty in accordance to the school’s collective beliefs, according to Bethany Jones, a student and president of the College Union, a social and recreational organization on campus.

After years of students and faculty lobbying for its change, the college’s Board of Trustees presented a completely revised statement called the “Community Covenant,” Jones said.

Less restrictive than its predecessor, the new document “helps Wheaton look more at things we do rather than things we don’t.” said Jones, an organizer of the event.

In addition, it didn’t specifically ban dancing.

Although, according to the document, students must “avoid any entertainment or behavior, on or off campus, which may be immodest, sinfully erotic or harmfully violent.”

Soon after the unexpected revision, a dance committee formed. Made up of faculty, administration and students, the committee developed a new dance policy, which the school’s president and vice president approved in October, said Jones, a committee member.

The committee planned a swing dance and swing lessons as a way to get students involved, attracting many who were already involved with swing dancing on campus, Jones said.

“It was a natural first dance to do,” she said. “It’s more wholesome and clean than other (popular dance types).”

“The school (administration) was worried whether students would behave responsibly,” at the dance, said Junior Class President Will Sleeth. The dance was held from 8 to 10:30 p.m.

“It was well-received by the community,” said student and Vice President of College Life Jonathan Miren. “There wasn’t anything there that wasn’t honoring to Christ.”

Although some alumni responded negatively to the change, about three-fourths of them supported the measure, Sleeth said.

“Most of the students, though — I’d say 95 percent — supported the change,” she said.

The change “gives us more credibility,” said Jones, who is already planning Wheaton’s second dance. The second will probably be a ballroom dance, she said, “pending administration approval.”