Homecoming is a highly anticipated week, filled with fun activities like Senior Sunrise, the powder puff game, pep rally, spirit week, and of course the Homecoming dance. Most students take for granted that these events just happen, similar to how Santa magically delivers presents to those on his nice list on Christmas morning. However, there is an entire crew of people, working diligently, that make these events come to life. To uncover the behind-the-scenes details of Homecoming setup, this article explores the process through interviews with Student Leadership members.
Student Leadership is responsible for most of the student-based activities that happen at Berkley. The president of Student Leadership, senior Allie Capuano, described the process of how they produce Hoco Week. She mentioned that the first step is planning for Homecoming. Capuano explained, “I started planning for Homecoming in the spring, but we officially start the first day of school. We get into committees and finalize the theme, and then we go forward from there.” She also states that roles and responsibilities are delegated by “a committee choosing something where we pull sticks to choose what committee each person is on, for example,the decorations have their own committee, and entertainment for homecoming has their own committee.”
Senior Gabe Vieder, chair of the spirit week committee, shared insights into the process of coming up with the spirit week themes. “We pretty much go over what we did last year, the things that we would like to change about it, and then we figure out new ideas while also keeping some others. We just want to make sure it is easy enough for the students to dress up as.”
Senior Willem Allen, a member of both the spirit week committee and the football team, provided perspective on balancing these roles. He said, “I balance both football and student leadership because while I’m at student leadership I tend to focus on that, but while I’m at football I have my mindset on getting better.” He also shared some light on the process of planning pep rally activities. “We just wanted to make sure we had activities that would really get students engaged. No one wants to watch a boring pep rally, so we had to make it very eventful.”
To wrap things up, Senior Antoniette Serra-Gagnon, a member of the entertainment committee, describes how they chose what entertainment they would use at the dance. She reveals, “We based our entertainment decisions off of what has worked for us in the past and the things that we thought the student body would like.”
This investigation reveals that Homecoming is a massive team effort shared amongst the members of Student Leadership, with each committee playing a crucial role in bringing the week’s activities to life. It’s amazing to see how much dedication and planning goes into making Homecoming at Berkley High a memorable experience for everyone.
