The Homecoming line wrapped all the way around the building. They stood in line with hopes of being able to enter the dance, but as minutes turned into hours, their excitement turned to frustration. Many re-entered their cars and simmered in disappointment as they drove home, and those who got in felt the line tainted their Homecoming experience. Here is what Rock Canyon students have to say about the dance.

Q: How was your overall experience at Homecoming? 

“Overall, it was okay. The entrance was horrible, they should have had more entrances and more staff. The cars were cool if you knew where they were. The music wasn’t the greatest,” Camden Cox ‘25 said. 

“It was my first homecoming dance, and I thought it would be cooler, but, I mean it got really hot inside and like, half the people didn’t even get into the venue,” Luke Whalen ‘24 said.  

“The lines were really long, and it honestly wasn’t worth it… The breathalyzers weren’t great. The line was long, and it was unclear about compensation so people didn’t know whether they could leave or not,” Chloe Nowak ‘22 said. 

Q: How did you feel about the venue that the school chose to be at?

“I thought [the venue] was really small, like not big enough for the entire school. I would probably not have as great expectations for [the dance] next year, but will probably consider going,” Navika Thomas, ‘25 said. 

“We could have picked a better venue, but due to the limited time based off of the gym being flooded, I don’t think we had any other choice. But, yeah, I think we could’ve picked a better one,” Connor Brown ‘23 said.

“I honestly loved the venue itself. Some of the other aspects of the night like entry weren’t the best and I could comment on that, but that’s not the story. The place itself was super fun and lively. The inside was beautifully decorated and managed and I liked the amount of energy it had. I will say that the inside was a bit small, especially considering how many people there were though which made getting around certain areas like the front and the bag area a bit difficult sometimes. Otherwise, it was fun! I definitely would love to go back again if they work out some of the other aspects and the venue was really nice overall and I enjoyed going,” Andrew Kim ‘24, Homecoming Duke said.

Q: What were your thoughts on the breathalyzers?

“I thought [the breathalyzers] were for good use, I mean you don’t want any like, drug kids stumbling into homecoming… My friend who is in student council told me that they bought 57, and they only used three, so I thought that it was a little bit of a waste to buy like 57 and only use three,” Elizabeth Lemeshewsky, ‘25 said.

“I thought the breathalyzers were strange but probably necessary. I think that’s what made it hard for everyone to get in,” Makenzie Spires ‘24 said.

Q: To the juniors and seniors: What was different about this dance from previous years?

“[Homecoming] was a lot different. I think having a different venue, other than the school, was very strange. I think it was a twist in our plans, but cool nonetheless. I think COVID didn’t really have that much effect on it as it did last year. I think I was just happy to get the events, being able to go to a football game and be able to be in the parade, have an actual dance. So overall there’s a good time but not that much change,” Ben England, ‘22, Homecoming Royalty Nominee said.

“This year was worse because nobody could even dance. The lines were why no one could get in, but the cars were probably cool,” Sam Record, ‘23 said.

Q: To the freshman and sophomores: As this is your first experience with homecoming, and does this make you want to go back to homecoming?

“[The dance] was kind of boring for, you know, waiting for two hours. And then, once we were inside, it was kind of loud, so it was… something. This experience doesn’t make me want to go to Homecoming again, ” Hailey Dull, ‘25 said.

“Based off this year’s homecoming dance experience, it does not make me want to go back next year. I believe COVID- 19 was a cause as to why the homecoming dance wasn’t very fun. I am hopeful that next year things will be better. Homecoming week was very fun though. The homecoming events were exciting and I’m excited for next year’s homecoming weekend,” Quinn Kane ‘24 said.

Q: As a member of student council, how do you think this dance went?

“Homecoming went over very well. Since none of the student body had been able to participate in Homecoming since 2019, this was a pivotal event that was well deserved. We managed to have all of the events we normally have, and we experienced record-breaking numbers for participation. It was amazing to see all of the student body get involved again, even after such a long period of time without any events,” Joshua Lederman, ’22 said.

“As a new member of Student Council, I feel the dance was a success. It did get out of hand at a certain point which lead to it getting shut down. As a new member I did not know what clean up was supposed to look like, and I heard from other returning members that the dance should have not looked like how it did at the end. This supposedly 30 minute clean up process turned into and 1 hour and 15 minutes. In all the dance could have been better and gone more smooth, but the amount of student turn out was spectacular.” Ella Oates ‘25 said.