Some students have seen our school dances this school year as unreliable and untrustworthy in whether or not they will happen. Our students have seen neighboring schools in our community creating school dances that are an instant success with many buying tickets and selling out. The dances are later posted on social media only bringing a stronger desire for our students to have one just as great. Northridge Academy is the only exception as we’ve had two dances canceled and a whole new idea of a Valentine’s dance. This Valentine’s dance has wavering thoughts on it by the students.
Junior, Yadira Galindo, commented, “This new dance just doesn’t sound fun compared to Winter Formal from past years or homecoming that other schools have. I don’t think I will be attending if I’m being honest.” This supports the thoughts of other students at the school about the constantly changing scheduled dances and ideas.
Even though Northridge does not have a football team, it does not mean basketball can’t be a substitute for the main homecoming event. Back in 2007, Northridge had its first-ever homecoming basketball game. As said in the 2007 yearbook, “We created our own traditions. Even without a football team, we still had a homecoming rally, game, and dance on January 26th, 2007. We started a tradition with our basketball team that will last forever.” The homecoming dance theme was the Masquerade Ball, which was held in the gym with beautifully decorated tables and many handmade and store-bought masks as part of the student’s semi-formal attire.
To create interest and increase student participation in school dances, Northridge needs to use traditional named events to draw in students. Leadership student, Dayhani Zamora, stated, “This school year’s dances have not turned out as we’ve hoped, we’ve faced low student interest, low sales, and not enough time to organize them thoroughly.” This is true as our disinterested students have led to a major decline in ticket sales and desperate actions by the ASB board like lowering prices and extending the deadlines to buy tickets. As a solution to this problem, many students such as senior, Alyssa Fernandez, stated, “People like free things and incentives which I think would help motivate students into buying tickets for events. Maybe free food or free activities would help increase student participation. Speaking of food, the food need
Northridge should put more time into planning out events and spending more money on a high-quality-oriented dance with activities like professional photo booths or food that is freshly made during the dance instead of cheap cold pizza.
