On Oct. 25, 314 students filed into the already-packed Large Gym, many decked out with chef hats, Minnie Mouse ears and class T-shirts to participate in the Homecoming dance.
This year, the dance commission and ASB worked together to make changes to the dances in order to attract more attendance. During an ASB meeting, students requested food during the dances, so the dance commission set up food tables and organized parent volunteers. Each table offered a variety of finger foods and desserts.
Furthermore, head dance commissioner Jade Bisht suggested a chocolate fountain to Spanish teacher Rebeca Marshburn, this year’s school-wide activities coordinator, in hopes of drawing more students to the dance.
“I remembered that the chocolate fountain at winter formal last year was extremely popular and always swarmed by people so I wanted to bring it to the Homecoming dance as well,” Bisht said.
Activities secretary Anna Ybarra also suggested adding a photo booth to the dance, so attendees could capture their Homecoming memories in a few snapshots to take home.
“The photo booth was fun because it was a unique way to remember the night,” sophomore Christine Wang said. “The photos that came out are special and specific to the occasion, so you will never forget the dance and the friends you went with.”
The Dance Commission and ASB’s efforts paid off; there was a definite increase in ticket sales from last year and “a greater attendance than [the dance commission] expected,” sophomore commissioner Julia Vita said.
The night was successful overall, as students enjoyed ending the week with friends. The Homecoming theme “TOGA on TV” also enabled attendees to dress in spirited and creative outfits.
“Students got to say goodbye to the stress of over a month's worth of worrying and planning by coming together with friends and just having fun,” Bisht said. “You could tell that each and every attendee was going all out, not caring and just wanting to have a night of no worries.”
In the future, the dance commission and ASB will maintain upcoming dances as carefree and enjoyable for students.
“I know it'll only go uphill from here because we have a lot of great ideas for all upcoming dances this year and all years after,” Bisht said.