Images from Jason Photos.
Every year, Homecoming is an event to remember, but how about this year? What changed, and what stayed the same? What made this year’s homecoming different, and how did WHS students feel about it?
Previous years without a doubt set the bar high. Like last year, the dance was in the amphitheater. Another thing students were excited about was the arcade. Like last year, the student center rented arcade equipment like skee ball, pool, and other arcade games. However, a change students demanded was more water. Last year’s students said there was too little water and nobody had enough to drink. Some other areas where the bar was set high were photo booths and the DJ’s quality of music. Last year’s students enjoyed the music so much, so people were looking forward to the music this year. So, how did this year’s dance compare to last year’s?
First, we can start with the changes we weren’t happy with. Capping our audience down to 1,000 was a real bummer. Not only were we not able to see all of our friends at the da had to stress about being able to get a ticket. Jason H. says, “Half my friend group is gone because they had to worry about school on top of getting a ticket without worrying about selling out.” He adds: “Also, guest passes shouldn’t have been taken away. Some of us with dates outside of Washington won’t be able to enjoy the dance as a couple.”
An improvement this year was the introduction of an all-new snack bar. Not interested in going to dinner before? Solved. Thirsty or hungry during the dance? Solved. The snack bar has been something that people have felt homecoming had been lacking.
For freshmen in particular, who have only been to awkward middle school dances, Homecoming is a new experience. We had the chance to speak to ninth grader Allison R. before and after the dance to see how her expectations compared with reality.
Before the dance, Allison said, “I’m very limited to what I know but few things I’ve heard are more music and it’ll be outside.” What they have heard is that there is better taste in music, the dance won’t be in the gym, and there would be a mosh pit, unlike any dance they had been to before. Allison also predicted that,“It’ll be an experience to remember.”
So, now that Homecoming is over, what’s the verdict? We’ll start with what didn’t work. Many students would say it would most likely be the music. Although the DJ put out some good songs, a lot was hard to mosh too, or it was a song nobody knew the lyrics to. Students are saying, “The music was the only thing that killed the vibe. I feel like if we had better music we’d be able to have more fun and mosh more. There were too many instances where people would just stand around instead of dancing, and where everybody would just chant ‘hey’ instead of singing the lyrics.” For Allison, “The music was hard to dance to because the DJ would transition to differently themed songs that changed the atmosphere too fast.” We also know that there weren’t any slow songs this year. Many people have made it clear that the slow song was an essential part of homecoming, and that it should at least be brought back for future homecomings.
Freshmen overall, however, thought that homecoming was great in some aspects but thought that food was an issue, saying that it was, “Too little.” Freshmen are also saying that “Although the dance was ultimately hundreds of times better, the food line seemed to be less than what it was at middle school dances.” In response, upperclassmen say that it shouldn’t be taken for granted, and that, according to Jason H., “The food line isn’t a requirement and that it should be seen as a surplus or as something extra.” Freshmen and upperclassmen all have different views of the dance, but we can see that both parties enjoyed the dance very much.
So, did homecoming meet expectations, and go beyond? Yes, it did. The introduction of the food line and the small light show in addition to what we had previously made this year’s dance all the better. Even with the subpar music, Homecoming was still one to remember.
Matthew La Brutto is a Junior at Washington High School. He grew up in San Diego, and moved to Fremont when he was about three years old. This is his first year at the paper. His journaling interests include local news, school news, food reviews, and movie/tv reviews. Some hobbies Matthew has are skateboarding, video games, water polo, swimming, and hanging out with his family. He wants to become a lawyer in the future, or do something related to literature.