by SABRINA RICHARD - Students discuss the culture of Homecoming.
WESTFIELD, Ind. (Sep. 2019) - After a week of dressing like cowboys, sweets and VSCO girls, students got to ‘leave room for Jesus’ and dance around to this year’s greatest bops and sappy love songs. The festivities of Homecoming always seem to boost school spirit. But what is the culture of Homecoming? What is the hype all about?
Some students didn’t see Homecoming for all it is, and one senior put it simply.
“We have Homecoming week, and we play a Homecoming football game I guess,” Luke West (12) said.
Contrastingly, underclassmen were eager to participate in Homecoming.
“I know that it’s a big dance, but there is also like a football game and a parade, but I’m mostly thinking about the dance, because I get to look pretty for it,” Molly Neff (9) said. “But I know that it is really involved. It’s school-wide, mostly aimed towards underclassmen, I don’t know. Just seems fun.”
Although some students expressed interest and excitement for Homecoming week, most focused on the school dance. A significant portion of students experienced their first Homecoming this year.
“You can go [to the dance] with a date or with friends, and you dance a lot, and it is really beautiful,” German foreign exchange student Marlene Heinle (12) said in anticipation of her first Homecoming .
For underclassmen, the dance itself evoked excitement and expectations.
“I’m getting very over-hyped about it,” Neff said. “I’m looking forward to being with my friends and taking lots of bad pictures and dancing and acting dumb, but like having fun and making memories.”
Several students recalled how much they enjoyed last year’s “Night in Paris.”
“I went to Jimmy John’s before and got day old bread with my friends,” Alex Arnold (10) said.
One part of the culture that many students experienced was being with their friends for Homecoming.
“I’ve been two years before and plan on going all four years,” Grace Stewart (11) said. “My favorite part is always getting hyped with my besties.”
Students danced, had fun and tried to ease their stress from school for one carefree night. Crammed into the gym, students danced their cares away and spent time with their friends. Like Stewart, Loryn Fry (10) was enthusiastic to be with her friends.
“I got to spend time with my friends and just dance,” Fry said. “It was a really good time.”
Students took Homecoming as an opportunity to dance and spend time with their friends. Before the dance, groups ate anywhere from Olive Garden and Soup-er Bowl Pho to McDonalds and then spent hours sweating in the gym. For participants, it wasn’t the specifics of choosing unlimited soup or salad over a Big Mac, but the experience of being together that mattered. It’s what made them hoco loco.
“I think it’s really good to get involved in school and involved with peers and do events like this because it is something that you’re going to remember,” Neff said. “You get to be dressed up for it and excited about it, and you get to make memories with your friends.”