Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2013, Page 94

Description:	ftsr «*•QFTWO WEEKS IN ..nthesisa growifig collection of photosSophomoreHopkins helpsQuinn Pizzoboutonniere tobefore WinterFebruary 1.students were selected bytheir teachers for theirexcellence in the classroom.PHOTO BY ELEANORE FUQUAJunior Alexander Burt sportshis elaborate batmancostume during the secondspirit week of the year.Sponsored by StudentCouncil, the week consistedof superhero, college, retro,mismatch and favorite bookcharacter days. PHOTO BYISABEL CULLATHERJunior Kathleen Moore andfreshman William Hopkinsshare a laugh while helpingtake down decorations afterthe Retro Dance. The twoenjoyed the night despite alower attendance rate thanin previous years. PHOTO BYELEANORE FUQUAThe 2013 Retro Dance, which took plac:hool dances: time-honored, iconic,3ps even cliche. In previousthese famed social gatheringswere part of the token high schoolexperience, a time to unwind withfriends, pursue a love interest orshowcase new moves. In 2013,however, the era of the high schooldance seemed to have passed.Theyre really boring, andkind of outdated, said freshmanCourtney Jaamiel. She was notalone in her criticism. In fact, schooldances saw a decline in attendancefrom 2009-2013. Traditions such asHomecoming and Prom endured thepopularity slump, leaving lesser-known events, particularly the RetroDance, to suffer.Sponsored by the StudentCouncil, the throw-back themedRetro Dance aimed to the lessen themonotony of winter and raise fundsfor the organization. Taking placeafter the retro-themed basketballgame and winter court, the dancefeatured music and costumes from avariety of decades. Over the years,however, it became morechallenging for the event to drawenough students to make a profit.The people who do comehave so much fun, said seniorHannah Alani, president of StudentCouncil, but for the last three yearsMr. [Joel] McKay has not wanted tohave a dance. Participation dippedto an all-time low in 2012, when sofew students purchased tickets thatthe organization lost money. The2013 Retro Dance wascomparatively more successful,earning about $250.Still, the limited popularity ofthe Retro Dance left some studentsquestioning the logic behind schooldances. We should listen tostudents, maybe we could gobowling or just throw a party, saidfreshman Carter Sims, a member ofStudent Council.The decisions to cut schooldances, however, would anger aselect few. Thats ridiculous, saidfreshman Mckenzie Jacobs. Thepeople who do like it will be letdown. She suggested abandoningthemed dances and costumes tomake it easier for people to attend.Dance-prone students tookhope in future years, anticipating aresurgence in school dancepopularity. We need to recreate aclimate where school dances arecool, Alani said. While the totalextinction of these events wasunlikely, in 201 3 they were certainlyclassified as an endangered species.- ELEANORE FUQU
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/8646
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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