This year, the school’s SGA decided to stop hosting the traditional homecoming dance and instead do an after-game event.
This event will be held after the Oct. 6 football game and is designed to spark student interest. “I think that it is a really awesome opportunity to try a new approach, to take an event that was not very well attended and turn it into something that has the potential to be a lot more fun, a lot more interactive, and a lot more people will come and participate,” SGA sponsor Amy Buckingham said.
SGA made this decision due to the lack of interest in the actual dance held at school and the lack of ticket sales. Last year, only 500 tickets were sold, and many were returned or never used. “The reality is it’s an expensive event that, as I said, hasn’t been well attended in a long time, so what we’d really like to try to do is to shift our focus into something that will be enjoyed and attended,” Buckingham said.
While SGA and Buckingham are pleased with this new idea, the student body is split in their feelings. “As a freshman, I strongly dislike the fact that we don’t have a set homecoming dance this year. My upperclassmen friends reminisce on their freshman homecoming, so to not have one is bad,” freshman Lilly Zimerman said.
While underclassmen are less happy with the event, upperclassmen have a different opinion. “I would definitely go, and I think it would be way more fun than a Saturday dance event,” senior Andrew Chen said.
This event doesn’t have the student body’s full support; however, students are still willing to attend, “I think inevitably it will be fun, and it just depends on what and how you go about it. Like if you’re going to go into it with a bad mindset and say ‘Oh this is going to be so boring’ and whatnot then there’s no point in going because you’re not going to try to enjoy it. Like go have fun please; if you’re going to go into the game and dance with a good mindset like you’re going to party, then you’re going to have a good time, so it should be fun, to be honest,” sophomore Ahmed Ibrahim said.
Despite the split opinion, SGA is working to provide something enjoyable for all. “We’re going to have food, we’re going to have music, people who want to dance can dance; We’re going to have games, we’re going to have activities for people to do, so it really gives you an easy way to come in and hang out with your friends after the game,” Buckingham said.
Although SGA has decided against the homecoming dance this year, they hope to be able to plan a replacement. “Later in the year, we’ll have some type of dance or ball, some other activities that we put together and plan for the student body to participate in,” Buckingham said.
