Each year, Homecoming week at Weddington High School offers students many great opportunities to show their school pride. From Spirit Week to one of the most exciting football games of the season, these activities spark high levels of participation and are well anticipated by the student body. Even with these great activities in store each year, a trademark of Homecoming at many schools is the Homecoming dance. This being said, it is curious as to why WHS does not partake in this tradition that appears to be a popular choice among many schools within and outside of our community.

Weddington has previously held a Homecoming dance, contrary to popular belief, one as recent as 2016. That October, there was a dance the Friday night immediately after the football game. Students came in decked out in their pink-themed gear from the student section and held a dance that yearbook writer Colin Price identified to have “deviated from formal dance festivities.” Comparing it closer to a Halloween party than a Homecoming celebration, he noted the informality of the event and barely associated it with an actual school dance. Along with this, a casual dress code and a start right after a game caused many students to find it too far from their dance expectations, noting the sweat and heat from the game having an effect on their experience. After all, Prom and Sadie Hawkin’s are both formal events that require students to be dressed nicely and well groomed prior to arrival, a thing that many consider to be an important part of the dance experience. This is also the intention of almost all other Homecoming dances outside of WHS, with students being encouraged to dress well rather than wear casual clothing. The lack of formal attire in past WHS dances can most likely be traced to the day it is held, Friday, as the short time after a football game does not give students the opportunity to change and make it back to the school in time to participate. With this being said, the main solution to this is holding the dance on a Saturday evening, done by schools such as CATA and Sun Valley. This allows students to take the time during the day to get dressed, eat dinner, and meet with peers beforehand, giving students the classic dance experience. Students from Weddington that have had the opportunity to participate in these dances at other schools, such as senior Sarah Dent, found their opportunity fun and a great way to celebrate Homecoming week.

Asking students, the majority are in favor of the idea of having a homecoming, finding it a great addition to the Homecoming festivities we already have. However, the main concern among almost all students is participation, with many unsure if their peers would actually attend the dance. Junior Beka Davis, having never gone to a Homecoming, found the idea of a dance “a good idea, if the students would actually want to go.” Many other students, like Beka, have expressed their concern for student participation, many of them discouraging the idea of a dance solely because of it most likely being held after the Friday football game. Students who hoped for a Saturday dance instead expected high turnout and student participation, with Lauren Hutchinson saying that “students will absolutely come” if the dance were to be held then. Schools outside WHS that hold Saturday evening dances appear have many “people from all different grades going, and a lot of people are really excited to go each year,” according to senior Keegan Williams of Sun Valley. It is evident that a deciding factor in the student turnout of a future homecoming dance would be dependent on the day it was held, with the restrictions on time and traditional formalities of a Friday night dance putting it at a disadvantage. This can also explain the disappearance of the Friday night homecoming dance, with the student-body preferring to attend a formal dance instead.

Drawing the opinions of the student body of Weddington High together, it appears that there is a desire for a Homecoming dance, but more specifically one that meets traditional criteria. With Prom and Sadie Hawkins setting a precedent of formality, as well as most other Homecoming dances being formal, it is unlikely that student participation will be adequate at another post-football game dance party in the gym. If the school can gather funds, plan, and create a traditional Homecoming dance that would allow for students to partake in the full dance experience, it is likely that students will enjoy the new addition to the Homecoming week festivities.