The 2023-’24 school year is in full swing. New classes, new grades, and a new homecoming soon approaching. Planned for October 7th, the dance already has a DJ booked and decorations in the works. The first dance of the year has traditionally been the most looked forward to, but does the event live up to the hype?
For starters, the dance is being promoted more than ever. Cleveland Leadership plans to have each grade create a themed sign that will be proudly displayed the night of the dance.
”They hopefully will be up by homecoming,”” says leadership President Evan Burke-Doyle.
The signs are meant to represent each class’ hopes and wishes for the school year. In addition to being shown the night of the dance, the signs will be exhibited in each of the class’ halls for the rest of the year.
Additionally, the ‘23 Homecoming theme is none other than Saturday Night Fever. We can expect silver, sequins, and sparkles at this year’s homecoming.
Although the dance preparation is in full swing, student’s hopes for the dance aren’t very high. Concerns about the weekend date and low attendance are keeping some students from going at all.
“At least in our grade, nobody wants to go,” says Holland McMahon, Cleveland Sophomore class president. “I’ll be making some class of 2026 Instagram posts, some get-ready-with-me’s,” she laughs.
“People seem very anti-hoco this year, it’s crushing my spirits,” shares Sophomore Fumie Mihara. “People just didn’t like it last year, even though I had a great time. People either love it or hate it.”
While some are more hesitant to attend, others have faith in the excitement of homecoming.
“I’m looking forward to the energy of homecoming and hanging out with my friends,” shares Junior Hazel Alperin.
Unlike some students, Alperin appreciates the date change for this year’s dance.
“I do like that it’s on a Saturday and not right after the game. I didn’t go to the game last year because the dance was right after it, it wasn’t worth it,” Alperin elaborates. “The dance doesn’t have to be late and an hour and a half, that was kind of weird.”
Although a weekend dance may seem unorthodox, this year’s dance is like no other. Students are encouraged to keep their hopes high even though the expectations for this year are low. Dress up, have fun, and support the Cleveland community this homecoming!