By Nico King Gile,
Staff Writer.
Third year without a spring dance. There are a few reasons they keep getting canceled, but all the same it’s a travesty. A lack of communication. Juniors saying it’s just for underclassmen. Less exciting per se than the other dances. Meanwhile, other schools have them. In 2023 it was a second semester highlight. However, every other grade here now has never had a chance to experience it.
Part of the issue is how little it is advertised. You may not know when it was planned to happen, this year being set for March 28. Two years ago it entered the announcements only three weeks before it was set to happen. No one had time to prepare for the sudden event, so they had to cancel it. Junior Talia Loarie’s whole friend group bought tickets freshman year before it got canceled because there weren’t enough sales for it to be worth putting on the dance. “I [was] annoyed but I also wasn’t surprised,” said Loarie.
Another part of this is the perception that it’s only for underclassmen, as a replacement for prom. “I just feel like if they have a spring formal it’s meant for the underclassmen,” said junior Peyton Patrick. That’s disappointing because there’s a lot to love about a spring semi-formal, mostly the same reasons that people go to homecoming. You get to go out before, eat, hang out and get ready before heading to the actual dance, which three years ago was just like homecoming. Flashing lights, crowded dancers and, of course, a calm side room with food and seats. It’s an inviting space to go talk, hang out and dance with friends or meet new ones.
Moreover, it goes great with prom, as a free chance to try on a new outfit piece and meet more people at our high school. We, as a school, have the power to decide what events we want, and I think we should give the spring dance a real chance. Except now it’s too late for this year. Although there will be refunds for those who bought tickets, we will still miss out on the fun memories that could have been made at the spring dance. I will never have another spring semi-formal, so I will fondly remember my first and last one from 2023.
