Evolving Identities at 2017 Homecoming Dance
After much anticipation, the Homecoming Dance finally rolled around. In the weeks before, cries of “yes!” — and the occasional “no” — could be heard throughout the campus as girls were approached with flowers and punny poster proposals.
Some people went as friends, either in large groups or as duos. “Going in a group is so much more fun, because you have more people you get to hang out with and there’s no pressure on just hanging out with one single person,” freshman Christina Rawson said.
Freshman Joseph Burger has a different take: “Honestly, going with a group has a lot of … perks, but you could just always go with a group somewhere else, like say a Starbucks. Homecoming is really once an event so, yeah, take a date.”
The day of the dance, students flocked to the wardrobe doors of Caiman Hall through an unfamiliar byzantine hallway. The walls were covered in ornate wallpaper and lined with shelves full of dusty books. Soft, ruby-red carpet soothed the throbbing feet of many.
It wasn’t the framed paintings or the fireplace that made Narnia come to life, however; it was the wardrobe. Students and teachers alike pushed through fur coats straight into Caiman Hall converted into a snowy wonderland, complete with icicles, thrones, the sleigh and the White Witch’s malicious dwarf.
The decor wasn’t the only thing that changed. “I feel like being voted can change me a little— because I wasn’t used to getting this much attention, and it—I really got to know more people; yeah, it was just a really great time,” sophomore prince Peter Semenza said.
When asked what seemed different, Semenza said, “I feel like I had more fun with my friends this year, because last year, being a freshman, I didn’t have as many friends. It was just a little awkward, because it was a first-time thing. I’ll remember [being Homecoming Sophomore Prince] for the rest of my life. It was just a great time; I feel so honored that out of everyone… I got chosen.”
Both inside and outside of the Homecoming Dance, people — and places — have changed drastically.
