Amidst the weekend nights spent frequenting sweaty basements and searching for the perfect party outfits, Whitman students can find a new group at parties that hope to transform the nightlife scene—Club Noir. Emmanuel Sakala, a senior Music Technology and Production major is one of the co-founders of Club Noir and formed the club alongside Aizayah James and Wayne McKay this semester.
Sakala began DJing in college and had the idea to form Club Noir after his experience spending the summer in Seattle.
“I’ve been DJing since I came here in 2021 and then over this summer, I went to Seattle, and one thing I realized was [DJs] there had at least a plan and a theme,” Sakala said. “I went to a lot of different parties [in Walla Walla] and one thing I realized is that most of them did not have a music theme, and did not concentrate on maybe two or three genres. [If there’s a clear theme] that happens then you know when you are going into the party what you’re expecting.”
Aizayah James, co-founder of Club Noir, who grew up in Walla Walla and also DJs, elaborated on the goals that Club Noir has when throwing parties.
“Honestly, our goal is just to have fun. We try to make parties more organized so negative things that happen at parties don’t happen again—we [are] going to try to do security. We try to make sure it’s only 18 and older. Why not organize the parties?” James said.
Wayne McKay, a senior psychics major and tenant at an off-campus house nicknamed Haus, hosted a party on Sept. 15 after the police shut down the original “White Party” hosted at a separate off-campus house. Club Noir reached out to McKay after the location changed and offered to help run the party, and after McKay and the rest of Haus agreed last minute, Club Noir came ready to DJ.
“The best part of working with Club Noir was the experience they offered to the partygoers. They were very professional and were very good at DJing. Their presence changed the entire dynamic of the party, and they maintained that dynamic through the night,” McKay said.
A local Facebook account, “Walla Walla scanner info by Kevin,” dedicated to listening to Walla Walla police scanners, posted that there was increased police activity on Sept. 15 and the police had to involve Whitman Security. At the time of this article’s publication, Whitman Security has not responded to requests to comment on police requests regarding off-campus parties. While Club Noir does not respond to police activity at parties, a responsibility that befalls the renters, they still want to take steps to reduce potential police complaints.
“There was a lot of people on the street and causing commotion and problems on the street. Like, not major problems, but there was a lot of noise and potential problems. We are trying to get people to stay indoors, or if they need to go outside, to stay safe,” Sakala said.
The increased police activity regarding Whitman parties this year is not a deterrent for Sakala and the rest of Club Noir, especially since the organization is a brand-new passion project. They want to evolve Club Noir around the varied community needs.
“We are not making money and we do not want to make Whitman students pay; that would not make sense. We have never done this before, this is our first time [and] we are still learning, literally. We started this month and we are open to ideas and want to have parties that people can really enjoy… all we’re asking is to respect the houses that are hosting,” Sakala said.
Club Noir will continue to help host and DJ parties this year at Whitman. Sakala has enjoyed DJing so far, finding it a highlight of his semester.
“The biggest thing that I wanted to have when we came up with the idea of Club Noir is just to make sure that people have fun for two, three, or more hours where they can just have fun. I’m usually on the board playing, so when I’m playing and I change a song or something, and people go ‘aaaaaah’ that fills me with joy. I love people having fun,” Sakala said.
People wishing to collaborate with Club Noir can contact them on their Instagram where students will see Sakala and the rest of Club Noir DJing throughout the year. By introducing a more formal organization dedicated to nightlife and connecting off-campus parties to Walla Walla at large, Club Noir shifts the longstanding dynamic of Whitman party culture where parties were either independently organized or facilitated through Greek life. For Sakala and other club members, this means increasing the quality of these events through cohesively organized DJing.
