Administration must prepare for dance changes

In hopes of allowing more students to attend the dance this school year, Student Council elected to host the Homecoming dance in the high school’s gym.

For the past several years, the Homecoming dance has been at a location other than the high school. This resulted in higher ticket prices ranging from roughly $25-35. The higher price was mainly because of the bus cost and rental space required to accommodate hundreds of students each year according to Sarah Lindenberg, Student Council adviser.

As opposed to previous years, the new location will allow for cheaper ticket prices, a more accessible location and the ability for students to leave at their will.

During dances, students have previously been forced to stay for the entire duration of the dance. Not only have there been adults to assure no student leaves, the distant location made it difficult and discouraged students to leave the dance until they could be bused home.

With the convenient location of the dance, in the school, it makes the act of leaving early a lot easier. Because the dance usually lasts several hours, leaving early can cause a student to be unaccounted for until the dance end.

Nowhere in the Student Handbook and Policy Guide is it stated that the school is liable for students during dance hours. Because of the celebratory nature of the event, being in a supervised environment may lead to students making better choices.

Allowing students to leave early raises the editorial board’s concerns of students’ safety and parental awareness. We urge students to act safely and responsibly during, and especially after, the dance. With new freedoms given, it is important to consider not only personal safety, but also the safety of peers.

The editorial board believes the administration should fully prepare for students to leave the dance early and develop a complete plan to inform students and more importantly, parents, of this development. The administration should send out an email regarding their policies during the dance to let parents know their child may not be where expected during dance hours.