When students heard that the Homecoming Dance and the Homecoming game were scheduled for the same day this year, some wanted to scream and others wanted to yell at an administrator.
Initially, some thought the game and dance were ruined with the same-day schedule. In hindsight, many need to reevaluate their exaggerated reactions.
Having both events on the same day was nothing more than a minor annoyance, more so for girls than guys. It was done to save the school money on security costs.
Having both events on the same day just meant planning ahead to make sure girls could get their hair and nail appointments scheduled at a time that did not conflict with the 1 p.m. afternoon football game – if they were planning to attend it.
The homecoming dance is very often one of a high school student’s favorite days, and that isn’t changing anytime soon. Fun and food abound, and it gives a break from the constant stress that school is so infamous for providing. Being second only to prom, it’s common to see students scrambling around during passing time or after school trying to find a date or the perfect dress or suit. The homecoming game taking place on the same day didn’t change any of that.
Alternatively, there were a lot of positive things about the changes to the dance. In the past, students were sent home from the dance for wearing jeans. This year, no type of code was enforced. When we won the game, students were able to celebrate it the same day with their friends at the dance.
There were probably some girls for whom the homecoming schedule was a problem, especially the cheerleaders and female band members, who had to be at the game and didn’t have the option to squeeze in there salon appointments the day of the dance. For them, dance rituals of getting their nails and hair done were probably cut short.
Despite this, the elimination of the dress code for the dance more than made up for this.
To sum it all up, there was no need to yell, scream or run out of class. It was not a big deal. School is stressful enough without worrying about minor annoyances like this