Homecoming is not worth missing the spooky fun that is happening all around town the same weekend. A trip to Newport for A Mystical Night Under the Sea is sure to be a thrilling experience, but the date of the dance may hamper with the fun. During most Halloweekends, many Webbies go out with friends to family events, parties, hangouts, and more. If students refuse to venture away from their typical Halloween weekend plans, Homecoming could turn into a major bust.
Homecoming could be compared to a party, but it is unfair to have students pick between the dance floor and the once-a-year experience Halloween parties provide. While both Homecoming and Halloween events are important, choosing between the two can be tough. Especially if your main goal was to meet new people or dress up in a silly costume, finding yourself walking around all night in formal clothes with your feet aching from heels or dress shoes might make one event seem more appealing than the other.
Besides just missing out on Halloween weekend events, this year Halloween itself is on a Tuesday. Since it is on a weekday boarders have restrictions on leaving campus, a similar issue to last year, when Halloween was on a Monday. In addition, since it is a weekday, students will likely have homework on their plates, pushing them towards staying home to do their work instead of partaking in Halloween fun. If students are faced with summatives, then homework could overtake the only Halloween experience they have left of the year.
Webb administrators argue that the date of Homecoming was not chosen with the intention of stealing the thunder of Halloween and Halloween weekend but was simply chosen because it was the weekend that worked best for Webb’s schedule this year.
Ken Rosenfeld, Dean of Campus Life, went in-depth about how October and November are busy months with alumni weekend, the fall play, and the recent break all taking up space on the weekends.
“We chose the weekend we thought would have aligned the best with everyone’s schedule,” said Mr. Rosenfeld.
Given the night it falls on this year, many Webbies hoped the Homecoming theme would revolve around Halloween a little more. Instead, the theme this year is Atlantis.
“We felt bottlenecked by a Halloween theme and decided that we wanted to go with something different, “said Jonathan Rosales (‘24), WSC Executive President.
Student Government has put a lot of effort into this Homecoming and there is only so much they can do with these dates set by the Calendar Committee.
The Calendar Committee is a group which plans all Webb events for the student body. Once they are planned, at the beginning of the school year, they are no longer subject to change. The inconvenient planning of events is a common theme that has been spoken about among students. Just as many students complained about the poorly planned Homecoming date, the release of this year’s theme, Atlantis, also sparked many opinions within the student body.
“Why not just do a costume theme?” said Xajani Badkar (‘24).
Students expressed that Atlantis was not the right decision for Homecoming’s theme this year, wishing they had attempted to incorporate the Halloween spirit like the Winter Formal last year. The student government takes many weeks planning these events with the job of representing the student voice throughout the planning process.
“The planning of Homecoming date is at a very poor timing compared to last year,” Matt Maschler (‘24) said.
Considering this, the planning for Webb events could be planned more around the students and for coming years the student voice should be considered in the Calendar Committee decision on dates. This conflict can be resolved with the aid of Webb administration, but the issue is that the student opinion needs to be voiced by their class representatives in these meetings so change can take place. Homecoming being placed on the weekend of Halloween is bad planning overall, and the misplanning of dates will continue until student voices reach the school.
