![Benjamin Williams and Reese Sherman, social studies teachers, explain department information a guest. "This [open house] was, for me, a great opportunity to meet family in the district that will soon be attending the high school," Williams said.](https://www.utimesonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/DSC_9117-1200x800.jpg)
A night under the stars
November 7, 2019
Although the Homecoming dance didn’t start until 7 p.m., Marian Reed, senior class sponsor, woke up at 3 a.m. to gather and prepare the decorations. Reed ordered the decorations two weeks in advance so everything would be ready for the dance.
“I stayed up all night and watched the kids dance and have fun,” Reed said. “[Afterwards] there were 13 chaperones and staff members [who] helped me break down and clean up everything.”
Many students also planned ahead, from a few days to a few months, choosing what to wear, how to do their hair and when to arrive. Most of the 450 students who attended arrived around 8:30 p.m., an hour and a half after the dance started. “Fashionably late” was the phrase coined by a few of the students.
“Girls most definitely take longer to get ready,” Peter Murphy, sophomore, said. “They have to put on makeup, then look at themselves, then put on their dress, then take pictures. [They do] all of this, just to take it all off in a couple of hours.”
The differences in the amount of time to get ready were evident. Mya Blanks, sophomore, said that her date took only a fourth of her estimated time to get ready.
“Guys don’t really dress up, they just wear jeans and sneakers most of the time,” Malaikah Lawrence, senior, said.
After winning Homecoming queen, Molly Holman, senior, said that she preferred last year’s music selection, explaining that this year, the DJ didn’t play the whole song. Instead, he cut off songs before they were over. Others, like Blanks, didn’t pay attention to the type of music being played, but still had songs she would have preferred to hear. She said that if she could add any artist to the DJ’s playlist, she’d add Conan Gray.
“I’d also add a slow dancing song,” Blanks said.
Apart from the music, students also said that they’d change the snacks to more organized food, such as pizza. Essence Green, junior Homecoming princess, didn’t eat many of the snacks on Homecoming night.
“I hate cupcakes, but I drank a bunch of lemonade,” Green said.
Nicole Kellogg, senior, said that her least favorite part of Homecoming is the time and stress of making plans. Green said her dress was made in advance, making her Homecoming total around $440.
“Overall, my friends helped me enjoy Homecoming,” Green said. “[We were] just laughing, talking and taking pictures.”
