As summer vacation slowly approaches, various groups around the campus are looking to raise money to fund end-of-the-year activities or simply to pay off a debt.
Spring Swing
A new tradition has started at Saratoga High, thanks in part to freshman David Mandell. On May 16, the freshman class held the first annual Spring Swing dance.
Mandell said he got the idea for the event after he and his friends started talking about how much fun people had at Jazz Cabaret. Mandell, who was the main coordinator for Spring Swing, planned the date, bought decorations and made arrangements for a DJ.
The dance was supposed to raise funds for the freshmen as well as for Pennies for Patients, but only 40 or so people showed up, limiting the amount of money the class could bring in.
“The turnout wasn’t as good as I expected, but I think the people that went had a really good time,” said Mandell. “I’d like to find out what people would be attracted to so that the dance would be more successful if it happens again next year.”
Coffee House
Coffee House, an annual fundraiser for the drama department, was held on May 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Little Theatre. Audience members who attended the event were treated to Starbucks coffee and student performances ranging from monologues to dances.
Entertaining performances, such as junior Eddie Zhang and seniors Nelson MacGowan and Danny Lulu’s parody of the popular “Flight of the Concords” as well as a magic show from freshman Jay Lee, made Coffee House a fun time for all.
Senior Kristin Gochnauer, who produced the show, said Coffee House brought a lot of “unfound talent” to light because there were no auditions and anyone could perform, whether they were a part of the drama department or not.
According to Gochnauer, the drama department acquired a debt after the one act play festival, and Coffee House’s profit went to ease this debt.
Lip Sync
The senior class intended on hosting Lip Sync on May 22. However, lack of student participation forced senior class president Nikhil Sheel to cancel the event.
“It is always tough to generate interest for this event and was even harder this year because of AP testing,” said Sheel. “Therefore, we thought it would be better to incorporate whatever acts we did have into the rally instead.”
According to Sheel, the money raised through Lip Sync would have helped the seniors pay for events such as prom and Grad Night.