Expectant football players await what some would call the biggest game of the year, just for it to be announced that the game they have been preparing for all year is canceled and then postponed due to no referees. Some would call it the result of bad planning or just a coincidence that unraveled into a chaotic night for all. The crowd consisting of parents, former athletes, and the unity of the entire community was left disappointed due to some no longer being able to watch their football team. Homecoming deserved better planning and took what could’ve been a special night for the student body from their hands.
“Us queens have prepared for this night tremendously so we definitely deserved more thought and time put into it,” Senior Queen Gianna Watts said. Watts was one of 6 queens who thought that their homecoming tradition of having the Friday night lights shine on their dresses would happen, but had it snatched straight from their hands. Wearing a sparkly white dress, Watts specifically picked that dress so that she could shine under the Friday night football lights and not in the glare of the sunshine. Many queens expressed heavy distress after hearing the announcement at the game saying that the game was postponed until 9:30, leaving them no choice but to proceed with the queens ceremony right then and there. Queens were forced to stand in the fading daylight and what was once a magical image for them that was thought about for months had also faded away.
Being student-athletes ourselves, athletics are a large part of our lives but it seemed also ridiculous to have to stay until 9:30pm for a game to start. Many student-athletes have work the next day and other priorities that we need to take care of such as smaller siblings. For a game to be so unplanned to the point where almost the entire student body including cheerleaders, student section, football players, etc., are unhappy then that should be a sign that homecoming (the biggest dance besides prom) should be planned better for the fairness of everybody. Students expressed that they wanted to have homecoming on Saturday night, but instead it was planned for homecoming night from 9-11 then was abruptly moved to 8-10. Therefore, football players who were held in the locker room the entire night were unable to go and what about the ones with actual dates? They spent money on a dress, getting their hair done, and probably their nails as well just to end up having nobody to dance with. Everybody was left unhappy because of a scheduling “conflict” that was not disclosed by anybody.
Not only that, but our own administration refuses to release the attendance records or even the ticket sales for the dance despite multiple attempts from us. Some students ended up not even going as they felt like they were just going to be disappointed in the end such as sophomore Amelia Estes.
“I would’ve liked to get a chance to get out of my cheer uniform so I could dress up and do my makeup, which I could’ve done if the dance was on Saturday night,” Estes said. But, there were other reasons as to why we were unable to have a homecoming dance on Saturday rather than Friday.
“It would have been hard to try and get in to do all of the setup and decorating for that when there was a big event going on throughout the day here,” office secretary Kim Killinger said. Shutting down the school cafeteria would not have been hard to try and do since the “big event” that was a volleyball tournament would’ve only involved the two gyms. Even if concessions were open, dance decorating could’ve still gone on and other students (rather than just student council) would have the opportunity to get their volunteer hours for organizations such as NHS.
While football games are harder to be rescheduled, other games are a tad bit easier and homecoming should have taken priority over every single one of them for such a major school dance.
For many, homecoming is about more than football or dancing. It is about celebrating with friends, taking photos, and making memories that last beyond high school. This year, that spirit was lost. It almost appeared as if students lost their voice that was once heard throughout the entire district. One that was respected. Student governance is authority that is just as important as administration and without a voice, we are left unheard and ultimately unrepresented.
