Maggie Sheridan | Managing Editor

There is one night each year on which all students at LCHS have the opportunity to dress in their finest outfits and participate in an evening of laughter and fun. Homecoming should be one of the most exciting events in a high school student’s life.

Unfortunately, this event has been losing its popularity over the last several years. In fact, this year we had a significant decrease in attendance. There seems to be a wide variety of reasons behind this result.

The first culprit appears to be a diminishing sense of school spirit. Especially when compared to other schools, LCHS lacks greatly in an outward appearance of school spirit.
It seems as though students are not motivated to participate in school-sponsored activities compared to years past.

For example, fewer students attend assemblies, and no one cheers especially loud. They believe that they will be made fun of, and rightly so, by other peers for showing their pride and will become embarrassed.

“They aren’t very fun and no one has any school spirit,” said sophomore Jessica Booker.

“Students are less willing to go out and be social or to go support our school at events compared to previous years,” said biology teacher Robert Hanger. “It seems that this is due to the growing use of cell phones. They feel as though connecting online is enough rather than connecting in person too.”

Another factor in decreased attendance at Homecoming specifically relates to the theme, decorations, and music.

“The dance was fun, but it could have been better due to the lack of decorations and only decent music,” said sophomore Sarah Moshrefi.

“I’d go if we had a better DJ,” said sophomore Kirsten Ponticelli. “No one likes the same old music that is played every year.”

This appears to be a common complaint among other students who also were in attendance, even though this year there was a new DJ.

Many students stop going to Homecoming after freshman year.

The price of the dance is also an issue for some students. Several high schools around the county charge less. Heritage charges fifteen dollars for admission, and Tuscarora charges ten dollars, but County charges twenty dollars.

“Twenty dollars is a lot for Homecoming, and not everyone can afford to pay that much money, especially if you’re bringing a date,” said sophomore Franklin Castro.

Lastly, students indicate that the location is also a cause for concern. Every year, Homecoming is held in the gym. This is odd considering the high price for tickets. “I would go if it was held at a nicer facility,” said sophomore Lillian Kern. “It would feel more special for us students.”

Unless attendance improves, Homecoming will have to be held in the gym and the price will remain the same since the small amount of profits are used to fund senior events.
In fact, most of the money from tickets is used for entertainment, including the DJ and lighting.

“Unfortunately, since attendance has dropped over the last few years, we cannot afford to lower the ticket cost,” said math teacher and senior class co-sponsor Jarod Brown.

It seems as though in order for Homecoming to be as popular as it was in the past, we’re going to need to work things out and make some changes. The best way to increase the popularity of the dance is to increase student involvement.

One solution would be letting students help in organizing the dance. A majority of the dance is run by adults on the PTA. Most staff and students are unaware of the details in the planning, but many students have ideas about how it could be improved.

Student-led committees could volunteer to help with decorations, food, and a theme. They could also provide input about what the money will be used to fund. The widespread problem seems to be a lack of school spirit, so this approach could be used in a number of areas, including Homecoming.

Hiring a student DJ might be a good alternative, especially since we have so many talented musicians at the school. It would be less expensive than hiring an actual DJ and they would understand the style of music their peers want to hear.

With more students helping plan Homecoming, they will care more about the outcome of the event and the end result should be a more successful turnout.