On February 2nd, ASB hosted SRHS’s winter dance: the Snowball Dance. Around 12% of the 1,250 SR students attended, a low turnout.

However, on the SRHS website, there is no evidence that the dance even occurred. Usually, dances are marked in the calendar on the left side of the website. There is nothing written on February 2nd. After a dance, photos from the photo booth are put on the school website within a couple of weeks. It has been over a month and there are no photos.

The dance was announced on Instagram, but not everyone is active on social media.

After Homecoming, the ASB dance committee immediately started planning the Snowball dance. After winter break, they worked on decorations, reserved the gym, hired a DJ, and booked a photobooth.

The rest of ASB supported the dance committee by selling tickets at brunch and lunch, setting up the gym before the dance, and then cleaning up afterward.

Other than students, they needed Administration to oversee the dance, custodians to help set up and clean the gym, and teachers to help chaperone.

Mr. Snaith, a SRHS math teacher, chaperoned the dance, along with Ms. Kilgariff, Ms. Heredia, Mr. Dennis, and Ms. Rodriguez. Mr. Snaith said, “I often chaperone for dances because I like seeing students all dressed up.”

As a safety measure, Mr. Snaith did a co-check at the entrance, and periodically checked outside the gym. With safeguards, dances are an enjoyable way to get to meet the rest of the school community and hang out with your friends.

“I know not everyone loves dancing, but dances and events like it are what make school more fun. Students report feeling stressed by classes, homework, college applications, and so much more,” Ms. Verheecke explained, “Taking time to have fun with friends in a healthy way, like at a school dance, is really important.”

ASB puts plenty of effort into organizing dances, so why didn’t SRHS students attend the Snowball Dance on February 2nd?

Most students reported disinterest in the dance. Allison Rodas, a SRHS senior, stated, “I didn’t go, because I wasn’t really intrigued by it. Also, I didn’t think about going to the dance.”

Since most of the school wasn’t going, the students who remained uninvolved, thought it wasn’t going to be fun. Aliya Clark, a SRHS senior, admitted, “I just find them kind of awkward because there are usually so few people. Also, we have prom this spring, so I’d rather just go to that than a winter dance.”

Brenna Gallagher, another SRHS senior, agreed with Aliya. As a result of the low attendance, “Instead of going to the dance, I went to go see one of my best friends in TL’s musical,” she justified.

It was awkward for Andrea Martinez, a SRHS senior, being one out of the 153 students who attended the dance. She reported, “Although I went, I felt a bit uncomfortable because there were so many sophomores and juniors.”

Even with all the advertising, a couple of students still didn’t know about the dance, much less the date, until a few days before. Broadcast mentioned the dance on January 25th, which was shown during advisory.

Keara Mulligan, a SRHS senior, explained, “I haven’t been to that many school dances, but for my senior year I wanted to go to as many as possible. I felt like the dance wasn’t well advertised and if I knew about a couple of weeks before, I would’ve gone.”

To ensure that no money is lost, tickets are sold in advance. Tickets are never sold at the door. ASB students create a budget for the dance, making an estimate on how many tickets need to be sold.

If not enough tickets are purchased by a certain date, there’s a high possibility that the dance will not become a reality.

Andrea suggests more people go because “all of the ASB members and staff spend their time making sure the dance is enjoyable. It is also the last dance [for seniors especially], so everyone should go and make it as fun as Homecoming.”