Homecoming is one of the biggest traditions in high schools all over the U. S. From fun spirit days to a dazzling dance, students look forward to Homecoming every year. At Parkway South High, our spirit days were Pajama Day, Toga Day, Greek Life, Camouflage, and Red, White, and Blue, and the Homecoming dance was on Oct. 12. 

Students across the school had many opinions about spirit days and the dance. “Homecoming is a great opportunity to have a good time with your friends. There’s not always a chance to do that at school,” Freshman Samin Shovik said. 

Despite good feedback about Homecoming, some students argued that it didn’t really live up to its expectations.

“It’s too expensive for one night and I have better things to do,” freshman Iniya Swaminathan said. 

Another student, Freshman Mary Peters said that she spent about $250 altogether for the dance while Junior Zach Davis said he spent about $80 including tickets. The tickets were $15 at the bookstore.

Aside from the dance, the spirit day themes also had some speculation.

“I liked the spirit day themes. I just wish they correlated a bit more,” Swaminathan said.

A teacher who helped plan Homecoming, Allison MacDonald, agreed.

“This year, I liked some of them [the themes]. I just think it would be nice if they all connected to the overall theme. I have no idea where camo came from. It also took too long to choose those themes, I don’t know why,” she said. 

MacDonald also mentioned that there were some other differences to Homecoming this year.

“We did a lot of decorations ahead of time. The two teachers that were usually in charge of Homecoming were out on maternity leave; Mrs. Alexander and Mrs. Allender. Mrs. Larson and I did it because we were the only two teachers that had experience,” MacDonald said. 

Furthermore, the pep rally on the Friday before Homecoming had some issues.

“This was the first year the assembly was on Friday, so we didn’t have all day to decorate like we normally would’ve. We would’ve typically started on Thursday night, and we didn’t get to paint,” she said.

On top of that, the dance also had some difficulties. Several times during the dance, the power cut out resulting in many people leaving the gym. On a brighter note, Jeffrey Ying and Samantha VanEssendelft were elected Homecoming King and Queen.

But all in all, the experience of Homecoming is one that students will remember for a lifetime.

“I love the idea of Homecoming; it just brings us all together to show school spirit,” Shovik said.