The beginning of the school year allows students to embark on many exciting journeys. While many new experiences await, one familiar tradition stands out: homecoming. That’s right folks, the beautiful event of homecoming is approaching once again. As a Berkley High School senior, I have had the honor of attending this event for the past three years of my life, and I am pumped for a fourth. Homecoming allows students to get dressed up with their friends, take pictures, and dance around with peers that they may not usually see outside of class. And while I think my immense excitement is well justified, it seems that other students may not share these feelings. In order to find out more, I talked to BHS students to hear their opinion about homecoming.
Something that I really cherish about homecoming is that it brings students together. One of my favorite parts about the homecoming night is being able to see my classmates whom I do not usually see outside of a school setting. Having a night where all of Berkley High comes together to just dance and have fun really gives me a sense of community with my school. I spoke with junior Heiress Brame, who shares a similar, enthusiastic opinion about this day.
When asking about her feelings towards homecoming, Brame’s eyes widened and a smile spread across her face. “I really really like the homecoming dance,” Brame said with a smile. “It’s very fun, especially if you’re with your friends.” I asked Brame what she specifically likes about the dance, and she explained to me that it gives her a “sense of community” as the whole school comes together in this informal setting to dance. Brame “love[s] to dance” and to see people who she usually doesn’t see outside of class. Brame explains that she has a lot of friends who are in grades above her, and this event allows her to hangout with them. She discusses how the homecoming dance feels like a celebration in some ways. Focusing on the homecoming game itself, Brame describes how the school celebrates the Berkley High School Football Team’s (hopeful) win the day after the game with the dance, which makes the entire event more exciting. According to Brame, the whole day of the dance is a big deal. Brame has a jam-packed schedule: running from getting her make-up done to last minute errands. All in all, homecoming is a very fun and memorable day for Brame.
After hearing Brame’s positive enthusiasm, I wanted to hear more about how the event actually comes to be each year. From my previous experience of attending this dance, I can infer that a lot of work was put into it. There are decorations covering the gym where the dance takes place, foods and activities, lots of advertisement for the event, and several spirited events leading up to the dance. Knowing that a lot of hard work and dedication is required to put on the homecoming dance, as a Berkley student, I have always felt that it is important to appreciate the event. I spoke with Student Leadership President Allie Capuano to find out how Student Leadership prepares for this event.
Capuano explained just how much time and hard work Student Leadership dedicates to this event. “We start the first day of school,” Capuano states. “We split up into committees to work on different aspects of the homecoming dance and homecoming event preparations.” Starting their preparations immediately, Student Leadership spends around five weeks working on homecoming.
But the start of the year is not the true start of homecoming preparation. According to Capuano, the homecoming theme is determined at the end of the previous year, so that Student Leadership can be as efficient with the time leading up to the dance as possible. Student Leadership is in charge of not only planning the dance, but all events leading up to it such as spirit week, powderpuff, and pep assembly. Because of this, they are extremely busy these first five weeks of school, figuring out logistics and creating advertisements or decorations. Student Leadership has a weekly Monday meeting. In this meeting, the different homecoming committees share what they have accomplished and what they plan to achieve during the upcoming week. As someone in Student Leadership, because she puts so much work into planning the event, homecoming is not only fun but very rewarding for Capuano.
In total, Capuano feels as though homecoming is a great event to get excited for and show school spirit at.
To gain a different perspective, I spoke with junior Vivan Kutsick, who does not have kind thoughts towards this annual school event.
“I think it’s a waste of time and money,” Kutsick stated. “The lines are always long. The gym where the dance takes place gets very hot. Nothing really stands out about it.” Kutsick’s comments highlight some of the challenges that students face at this event. Proving just how much she dislikes this event, Kutsick explains how she has “gone [to homecoming] every year of high school so far,” but does not intend to go this year. She had only gone to the dance her freshman and sophomore year because her friends wanted her to go, but was ultimately unsatisfied after each time. I personally love the preparations that go into the day of the dance, such as looking for a homecoming dress. When asking Kusick how she feels about this aspect of the event, she explains how she doesn’t mind the process, but “usually forget[s to get a dress] until the last minute.” Overall, Kutsick’s reasoning as to why the homecoming dance is not an event that is near and dear to her heart gives thoughtful insight as to why other students may feel this way as well.
All perspectives considered, homecoming is a super fun event that has a lot of effort put into it, but it is definitely not for everyone. Regardless of this, it is important to be appreciative of the hard work that Student Leadership puts into homecoming, and try to show a little school spirit. I hope to see you all at the dance on September 28th!
