In past years at Southern Lehigh, the homecoming dance typically occurred in late October, and the date corresponds with a home football game. This year, the dance was held on September 30th, almost a month earlier than in previous years, since most of the home football games were scheduled in the first half of the season.
“There was only one more home football game, which is always senior night,” Student Council advisor Mr. Troy Ruch said. “We only had four home football games, so this was where homecoming came into play.”
Student Council advisors Mr. Troy Ruch and Ms. Laura Schiffer, along with the club officers, faced more stress than usual, being required to plan the event in a time crunch. It was essential for the Student Council members to collaborate over the summer to plan the event.
“This year, [the] Student Council had to do a lot in order to kickstart homecoming,” senior Student Council co-president Allison Lewis said. “We had to meet multiple times outside of school: solidify a t-shirt design by the first day of school, create, print, and sell tickets, and more all in a matter of weeks, which is a much faster and much more stressful pace than usual.”
At the start of the year, spartan periods were not running, and SLHS students were picking clubs. Therefore, it required more work to establish who was in the Student Council, putting the responsibilities of planning homecoming solely on the officers and the advisors.
“There has been a lot to do and it has been stressful and fast due to the fact that it came up very quickly,” Student Council Secretary and senior Lydia Derstine said. “Now that it is out of the way, a big weight was lifted off of everyone’s shoulders, especially Ms. Schiffer’s and Mr. Ruch’s.”
Students already face difficulties adjusting to their new schedules at the beginning of the school year. Adding Homecoming to the already overwhelming start to a new school year proved nerve-wracking for the student body.
“Seniors are stressing about getting college applications done,” senior Student Council vice president TaNiya Pleasant said. “They would have a lot more time if it were later because we are focusing on both homecoming and college right now.”
Despite some negative feelings involving the timing of Homecoming this year, students still felt the same excitement and spirit in anticipation of the event. Looking at it in a positive light, the weather and temperature outside are typically better in September than in late October.
“Everyone is still kind of in that ‘back to school’ mentality,” senior Student Council co-president Lucia Huaman said, “and may have more school spirit than in late October.”
Even though the event required an immense amount of attention from the Student Council and its advisors early on, the time spent planning Homecoming certainly paid off, as the event occurred in the same manner as usual. The spirit week and football game leading up to Homecoming allowed students to show their school spirit. The dance itself contained food, a photo booth, music, dancing, and many other activities for the student body to enjoy.
“I’m happy with the time it was this year; it was just different,” senior Elizabeth Vezenov said. “It was still so much fun, but it would have been nice to have it in the middle of October again.”
