Breathtaking decorations, extravagant clothes, the thrill of inching one’s way onto the dance floor and an experience promised to be once in a lifetime. These are things many underclassmen long for at a school dance.
Most will receive a chance to try out their high school dance fantasy before their junior prom because of homecoming. Homecoming is meant to be the dance that freshmen and sophomores can claim as their own, along with upperclassmen.
Here, homecoming is frequently mocked for the day of the week on which it’s scheduled, and students boycott it ruthlessly.
For half of the student body, this is bearable because they have prom to look forward to. This is the dance that will make up for any homecoming inadequacies and allow an unforgettable night, one that will most likely be cherished for many years.
For underclassmen, the wait for a formal dance is longer and harsher.
It’s easy to say that underclassmen could clean up the disappointment of homecoming by attending it in masses and creating their own night of memories. But the nature of our homecoming hinders this.
No one makes spectacular high school dance memories while they are in their football game gear or without the company of the majority of their class.
Most students are unwilling to participate in a dance held on a Friday night.
A formal dance offered to freshmen and sophomores could provide the fundamental high school experience we’ve been deprived of.  As a sophomore, I have never attended a high school dance. It is not due to lack of fervor for dancing, nor dislike of social events. My classmates refuse to attend dances organized without their interests in mind. One sophomore’s sheer force of willpower will not be enough ammunition to fuel a dancing revolution.
A formal dance open to the entire student body is a privilege we are deserving of.
Many other schools do not share our plight. Cardinal Gibbons High offers a separate underclassmen dance as well as homecoming. This could be one solution to the dance dilemma.
With all this in mind, I strongly hope that administration will reconsider reinstating another dance available to underclassmen.