Homecoming dance overcomes DJ problems

The second dance of the year was a hit for many, gathering more than 700 students to celebrate the conclusion of the annual Homecoming week.

As students lined up from the entrance of the gymnasium along the front sidewalk, the clock had already struck 8, and the doors had yet to open as promised. What many hadn’t realized was that up until hours prior to the event, coordinators were already facing conflicts that hindered the success of the dance.

The Homecoming commission had already prepared for WiLD 94.9’s DJ Prestige to arrive on campus by 6 p.m, but he had yet to arrive. Student coordinators had enough time to call for backup, contacting local DJs in the neighborhood. After calling several to no avail, the school was able to recruit junior Kevin Rollinson to manage audio as the administration waited for DJ Prestige to turn up.

Better late than never, DJ Prestige made his entrance 10 minutes prior to the scheduled time of the event, just as Rollinson finished his audio setup. Rollinson, however, was off the job, and coordinators rushed to unload DJ Prestige’s equipment and open doors to students.

Coordinators finally kicked the night off at 8:15, piling in anxious gladiators, goddesses, harajuku girls and Aladdin lookalikes. As tradition, students dressed up in garb appropriate to their Homecoming class theme, ultilizing the endless wardrobe possibilities.

“I really like the fact that at Homecoming, you don’t have to dress up but you can be creative and do whatever you want with your theme,” said senior Stephanie Douglass. “I like the freedom of choosing what you can wear.”

Although students had the choice of what they wore, parent chaperones complained about how students were dancing.

“I had a lot of concerns from parents who watched the kind of dancing that went on,” said assistant principal Karen Hyde. “This is something were going to have to address. I do understand that were going through a culture clash with kids, and we can’t just bring back the waltz. But we have to keep this kind of thing from going on.”

Hyde said that the “freaking” dance style was worse than the alcohol issues at this dance.

The administration was still checking students for alcohol use from entering the gymnasium. Some students, however, were able to enter the dance without being breathalyzed because the school administration was geared to getting students in quickly due to the late start.

DJ Prestige not only caused the event to start late, but he also received criticism for his work.

“I didn’t think it was as good as other [Homecoming dances] in the past,” said senior Matt Leung. “The DJ kept replaying the songs.”

As the dance was nearing its conclusion at 11p.m., the party had come to an abrupt end that angered students. What was intended only as a warning that 10 minutes remained resulted in a rain on the students’ parade due to a miscommunication between the administration and the DJ.

“The dances always seem to go by really fast,” said sophomore Arianna Paranzino, “and it’s really obnoxious when they end even earlier than said. It happened at the last dance too so it gets frustrating.”

Despite the countless conflicts that could have dragged the dance down completely, the student coordinators managed to pull together an event that pleased many attendees.

“Overall I thought it was a lot of fun,” said Douglass. “I did think the DJ was kind of weird in the way he mixed two songs together, but I still had fun being with my friends.”