Homecoming, the first major school event of the year, has just wrapped up on October 19th. In past years, the event introduced freshmen to their high school careers and gave a farewell to seniors who wanted to make their last memories count.
Many students attended the event, which also came with numerous changes this year. Homecoming consists of various events: the pep rally, the skits and parade, the game, and lastly, the dance. This year’s pep rally happened during the last hour or so of school, the day before the Homecoming dance, as students were excused from class to head down to the football field. The pep rally included applauding the sports teams for their great seasons and a few games to excite the students for the coming weekend.
The real changes came with the Homecoming dance, which this year included food trucks, games, and fun outdoor activities. In previous years, the dance was centered inside the gym with snacks being sold outside the gym. With the changes came improvements and setbacks, though some students at RV seem to enjoy the atmosphere regardless, like senior Aniya Atwell, who detailed her last experience with homecoming.
“It was so much better than freshman year for me because I had fun with the right people,” Atwell said. “People haven’t gone because they thought it was going to be boring and some people have already gone for the last two to three years so they all got tired, but to me I had fun,” added Atwell.
Every student has a different opinion and experience with Homecoming, each unique in its own right. The event allows students to interact with their friends outside of a school setting and integrate themselves into the culture of their school community. This can be especially rewarding for underclassmen who attended the dance.
“Homecoming was a great experience,” said sophomore Natalie Fantauzzi. “I had so much fun with my friends.”
Junior Emmalyn Koffa participated in the unique opportunity of taking part in the Homecoming court. Her experience was exciting and helped her grow as a person.
“Overall my experience of Homecoming was really fun! Running for Homecoming Court made me step out of my comfort zone, which is one of the goals I want to achieve for this school year.” Koffa said.
She also spoke on the dance itself, noting the lack of upperclassmen at the dance.
“I think the Homecoming dance was alright, only freshman and sophomores were in attendance,” junior court representative Koffa commented. “I preferred last year’s homecoming because my friends wanted to attend, but I like the idea of food trucks and games at the dance this year.”
All of its attendees noted the new look for homecoming in both a positive and negative light. Students had the opportunity to play games and eat at food trucks, which differed from the previous homecomings which were held in the gym. For some, it made the experience less enjoyable. An anonymous student commented on the event, expressing their dissatisfaction with some of the changes and their negative effects.
“The option of being outside made the experience less fun,” an anonymous student said. “There were a lot of lines and I also thought the photo booth was not in a noticeable place, which left me searching for it. I also wish that the event had better music. It was fun, but I didn’t like the outside aspect.”
Homecoming is truly a welcome to the school year, encouraging people to get into their school spirit. While the look has changed, Homecoming’s message about enjoying new moments at school stands true.
