BY REGAN MCCROSKEY (’15)

The Academy Awards, one of the last ones of the year, was broadcasted this past Sunday, February 22^nd, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, L.A. This classic event, watched by millions all over the world, is not only about the awards, but also about the fashion, who’s attending, and the musical performances.

There are 24 categories at the Oscars, including best original song, best adapted screenplay, best animated short film, and other unique, highly regarded award categories.

Some of the highlights at the awards was Patricia Arquette’s acceptance speech when she won best supporting actress for her performance in “Boyhood.”

“To every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights,” Arquette said. “It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America!”

Her speech was empowering and invigorating, and the reactions of her speech took the world by storm, including Meryl Streep’s explosion of excitement, throwing her hand in the air and screaming “YES” with full confidence.

Other exciting moments at the awards ceremony include Eddie Redmayne winning best actor award for his performance in “The Theory of Everything,” beating out some of the biggest people in Hollywood, including Steve Carell, Bradley Cooper, Michael Keaton and Benedict Cumberbatch. His speech consisted of thanking everyone for their support and dedicating his award to everyone with ALS.

Lady Gaga gave a beautiful performance, performing classic songs from “The Sound of Music.” After her stunning performance, Julie Andrews, featured in the original movie, was thrilled with Gaga’s tribute to this timeless classic.

“It really warmed my heart,” Andrews said.

And of course, the stars were dressed to the nines, wearing the best, most successful designers in the world like Elie Saab, Tom Ford, Givenchy Haute Couture, Versace, Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein and many others.

One of the most talked about dresses of the awards night was Emma Stone’s soft yellow-green, beaded evening gown. She looked like a garden in the spring, exactly what the world wanted to see with this horrible cold front (especially the Midwest).  She, along with Jennifer Lopez, Anna Kendrick, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson and others were named best dressed at the Oscars this year.

The 87^th annual academy awards ceremony was a hit (as it is every year). I cannot wait to see what the 88^th awards ceremony will bring us!