The homecoming dance took place on Sept. 30, with 1799 total students in attendance, ASB Secretary Gianna Le said. This year, students were allowed to bring guests to the event, and 90 such participants attended, Le said.
The dance occurred before other homecoming events, such as the homecoming game and homecoming festival, which marks a departure from tradition, Le said.
“Football was already earlier this year because the homecoming game is to be the sixth whereas normally we have homecoming like mid-October,” Le said. “But since the game was on the sixth (of October), the dance would be on a three day weekend, so we had to change it to a week before.”
The theme of homecoming was major cities, which was an idea that had been considered since last year, Le said.
“The other officers already had ideas for their decorations beforehand,” Le said, “A lot of club officers wanted that idea, and it tied into the whole idea of diversity.”
At the dance, the main venue, the area at the entrance of the large gym, was illuminated by string lights, with posters and other decorations lining the nearby walls of classrooms. The dance also included photo booths in the gym, with both 360-degree photo stands and more traditional phone booths. The tennis courts also had activities, such as ring tossing and bowling.
“The atmosphere was good before,” senior AJ Diaz said, “The decorations are ten times better than last year – like it kind of sets the mood of everybody.”
The addition of new props and decorations was a great addition to the atmosphere of the event, sophomore Bowen Xu said.
“The Ferris wheel and the fancy lighting are cool, especially for taking pictures,” Xu said. “Last year, they had class floats displayed, which people could take pictures on. I think they should have done that again.”
An issue of the homecoming dances was always the wait times, such as the line to enter the event itself, senior Vanessa Lam said.
“This year, getting in was faster than last year,” Lamb said, “It’s much better.”
The lines to the various photo booths in the gym, however, were extremely long and congested, senior Dawit Negash said.
“The lines are too long, I feel like I don’t even know where it starts,” Negash said.
Another change to previous years was the presence of more food trucks at the event, such as Spartan Tacos. The food also tasted better, Xu said.
“The food is a bit more expensive than average,” Xu said. “Still, I’d say it’s worth the price considering the selection and variety.”
The music selection was very good, with a lot of recognizable titles, but the DJing was not perfect, Negash said.
“I hope they finish a song,” Negash said during the dance. “It’s like every 30 seconds, and it’s a different song,” he said.
Senior Keryssa Li believes that the homecoming dance is an important experience for all high school students, she said.
“I think people should come out here at least once for their high school experience, even if they don’t like dances,” Li said.
The most enjoyable part of homecoming is seeing other people let loose and hanging out with friends, Diaz said.
“Everybody here is just letting each other vibe out and just chill,” Diaz said, “Like no one’s judging, you know what I mean? Just everybody’s having fun.”