For seniors, Homecoming marks the beginning of the end of high school: A bittersweet experience that kicks off with Spirit Week, Crazy Blue and White Friday night football, and the Homecoming King and Queen announcement. Despite the delay in this year’s Spirit Week, many students from all grade levels can attest to the Homecoming dance being a memorable night.

In regards to location, the Rosen plaza was notably different from last year’s Homecoming at SeaWorld. When interviewed about the indoor versus outdoor setting, Junior Addison Evans said she preferred to be indoors and emphasized the need for tables and seats to come back for breaks from dancing in the following statement, “Indoor if you didn’t really want to dance or your feet [started] hurting you can sit down, but outside you kind of just got stuck with cement on a bench: You weren’t really comfortable. But inside there were comfy chairs.” She then described more comparisons to last year and this year’s Homecoming. Addison believed the food and theme hit the spot. She specifically explained how, “the LED Robots were a really cool addition to the dance because I wasn’t expecting it and it went really well with the theme.” On the other hand, she found last year’s music to be better and stressed the importance of selecting music and communicating with the DJ. “We need to be more inclusive with every detail instead of just the decoration or the place. We need to talk about the music because that’s a big part of the dance,” says Addison. Conversely many students enjoyed the music at Homecoming and loved the diversity of the music played. Freshman Estela Reyes-Cepeda said “When they started playing Bad Bunny, I lost it. A lot of the music was interactive, fun, and recent.” Her only wish was to have the music censored. “Even if it’s in a different language some of us understand it,” says Estella.

Similarly, many students enjoyed the wonderful white drapes and numerous lights that gave a Miami Night feel. Sophomore, Khushali Satia, said “Everybody was wearing colors that related to Miami nights and I think they [the planning committee] did well.”  However, Freshman Estela Reyes-Cepeda wanted “More of a palm leaf vibe. [she believed it] felt more like a Vegas-theme than a Miami night. There was just a backdrop.” Khushali’s sole suggestion was to have a bigger venue so the dance floor could be less crowded. Overall, the dance received beautiful reviews on its venue and theme.

When it comes to the food, the desserts did not disappoint. Students could indulge in a variety of meals and refreshments to select from, varying from cake pops, brownies, cheesecakes and more. Despite all of this variety, some students were unable to eat due to the lack of allergy warnings. Freshman Aaron Singh said, “I didn’t eat the food because I have a peanut allergy and I didn’t know if I would get a reaction.” Additionally, Freshman Estela Reyes-Cepeda, described the food as sufficient, yet fleeting. When all meals and refreshments disappeared during the dance she said she was “really sad because I couldn’t try all the sweets before I sugar crashed.” Estela believes that more refreshments should have been provided after that time “because a lot of us got really thirsty and we’re kind of disappointed because all of our Coke [the soda] was gone.”

To end things off, we have an interview with Senior Allyson Crighton, head of the planning committee for Homecoming:

What are some challenges faced or overcome while planning for Homecoming?

One of the biggest challenges was finding a DJ that can incorporate a variety of different songs that appeals to our crowd of students

How did you decide on the DJ?

We booked [Al Dee Productions] through the venue that we went to because he worked with them before. After doing research on their company we found that they have done many Homecomings before us and all of the students had great things to say about them: their views were amazing. Al Dee Productions provided decorations and a variety of songs.

How did you decide on the theme?

It was a collective idea from SGA. We had a whole bunch of themes that we went through like Casino, but the one that had the most votes was the Miami Nights theme. We really liked the colors like the blues and pinks.

How did you select the food?

We found that a lot of people prefer deserts over crackers and cheeses so the fruits and deserts were the top choice. 

Is there anything you wanted to do but couldn’t?

A 360 camera station [the camera that revolves around you], but we decided that it would be better to have 2 photo booths so more people could get pictures instead of a long line for only one station.

Do you believe you met your expectations?

We definitely met our expectations because the decorations looked exactly like how we wanted them to. The hotel was very good at portraying our idea with the drapes and lighting. The DJ was also amazing, I think he actually exceeded my expectations.