ASB announced the cancellation of the Winter Formal dance just days before it was supposed to take place. This decision has prompted a wave of mixed emotions on how school dances should be promoted and the big question is, should winter formal should even be a thing at SR?
Winter Formal, typically one of the many highlights of any high school year, was supposed to take place on January 25. However, despite weeks of promoting the dance, it was reported by ASB members, there was a lack of interest in the event and minimal ticket sales. The sales made the event hard to meet the expectations for a successful dance.
According to Nazira Kury, the current ASB adviser, the cancellation is due to the amount of tickets being sold. “10 days before the event we had such low numbers, like in the single digits,” she states. The lack of ticket sales doesn’t spark any surprise because in past years there would be a whole spirit week leading up to the dance and sometimes even a rally to hype the dance up a little more. Posters promoting the event were hung up all around campus and teachers would even ask some of their students if they were planning on attending. This year was a different vibe. No one was talking about it, there was less promotion, and no hype.
“Usually, you can kind of gauge how an event is gonna turn out based on what you’re hearing around school, and there was like nothing,” says Ruby Lacerda, the ASB senior Class President and an Off the Leash staffer. ”Nobody was saying anything, we weren’t getting any interaction from social media, so yeah there were a lot of signs.”
Assistant Principal Shannon Erby claims the cancellation of Winter Formal was “financially worth it” because of all the people and money involved. They needed “to make a decision quickly so that fees would not increase for cancellation with the vendors.” With the amount of people that were expected to be at the dance, it would have not been worth the amount of money being spent. Since there were fewer than 20 people attending the event and hundreds of dollars being spent, it was the right decision to cancel the event and use the money for something students would actually attend or participate in.
“What’s that?” said Esmeralda Reyes, a freshman, when being asked if she was planning on attending Winter Formal. As a freshman, it is hard to keep up with school events and navigating a new social calendar.
Prioritizing communication more consistently could help ASB support the lower classmen, in accessing new information . Another student, a sophmore, Lizbeth Santos adds, “I really didn’t mind it getting canceled because I wasn’t gonna go anyways.” This goes back to ticket sales and school spirit. A comment like this reflects a trend where students feel disconnected from traditions that once defined high school culture. “I remember hearing stories about high school culture when I was younger about how school events brought everyone together, even being in elementary going to the carnival SR used to host made me feel like I was in the SRHS community and now it seems like people don’t care as much and that sense of community is fading away,” says senior, Angelli Cifentes.
It seems like there’s miscommunication on what the school offers and what students find meaningful. If events like Winter Formal are no longer seen as a big deal, it could indicate a shift in how high school students engage with school traditions.
At SR, Winter Formal isn’t considered a yearly tradition as it is at other high schools. The dance is inconsistent, unlike homecoming or prom. Getting the dance cancelled doesn’t spark much concern among the students.
Azeem Munshi, junior Class President, explains the logic. “We had to consider future events,” he says. “and whether or not the money would be better spent for things like the Spring Fling and the upcoming senior prom or future rallies we’ll have or even merchandise.”
