The Student Council overcame multiple obstacles to pull off this year’s homecoming dance on Saturday, Sept. 25. Shortened planning time, a new outside location and worries about the weather were major concerns.

  The dance took place in the stadium entry area instead of inside the school in order to loosen COVID restrictions. The theme was “Look and Feel Like a Star.”

   About 900 tickets were sold for the dance, despite the Student Council having only a limited time to plan the event.

   “We made an announcement on the 20th in the morning announcements and leading up to homecoming week in general,” said Ms. Alma Tapia, Student Council Advisor and Freshman Academy Office Professional,. “Student council had to start promoting on social platforms since word was not getting out quickly enough.” 

   Students had lowered expectations, considering the fact that the dance was cancelled last year due to the pandemic.

   “I’m just looking forward to the experience as a whole,” said Daniel Tackett, junior, prior to the dance. “I feel like my experience as a junior will be significantly better than when I went as a freshman.”

   Many students gathered before the dance for photos at places like Sinnissippi Park or Nicholas Conservatory to take advantage of the natural settings. Some students reserved tables at local restaurants for dinner. But the highlight of the night, of course, was the dance itself.

   “I have always loved dancing with all my friends.” said Sadie Gross, senior and Student Council member. “It is a cool club-like, concert-like setting and a fun experience to have.” 

Challenges for students who attended the dance included limited seating, cold weather, and most of all, the time crunch of learning about it so soon before it happened. The limited seating led to some people sitting on the ground, since they didn’t want to participate in the dancing. The weather was chilly and got colder as the evening progressed. 

   “The problem with having it outside is that if we are bringing our dates and you’re a couple,” said Trenton Marulewski, senior. “People might get cold but usually they don’t allow physical contact.”

   Student council members had trouble setting up the dance decorations because of the wind and cold. 

   “A problem we had was that we started planning it on the 22nd and homecoming was September 25th,” said Ms. Tapia. “We didn’t know we were going to be having a homecoming. The location was outside and we were worried it might rain and that it was windy.”

   Given the difficult challenges faced by the Student Council, the fact that the dance actually took place this year is a victory in itself. And despite the chill in the air, the students in the mosh pit certainly weren’t complaining about the cold.

   And hey, it didn’t rain.

   “Other than the fact that we announced that homecoming was going to be happening about 1½ to 2 weeks beforehand, this is how we normally do it,” said Gross.