Imagine going to Hollywood with your friends, riding alongside the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a school bus, and taking pictures with Capitol Records in the background. Unlike previous years where the venues of homecoming were located in rather rural areas, this year’s homecoming is going to be held at Bardot, Hollywood – a night club in Los Angeles – on Saturday, November 9th.

While homecoming does not happen until November every year, Webb student government begins preparation early in the year. 

Student government officers traveled around Southern California to look for the right venue while other students relaxed during summer break.

Jeffrey Zhong (‘20), WSC all-school vice president, said, “Homecoming preparation started this spring. We narrowed the venues to three and visited them over the summer.”

Abbie Oh Arroyo (‘21), VWS all-school vice president, said, “During the summer, we looked into the venues that we proposed during the spring semester and considered factors like spaces and pricing, and we traveled to see the venues until we finally found the venue we decided on: Bardot, Hollywood.”

Student government officers met some great challenges in balancing the budget and making improvements from previous years’ homecoming experiences.

Shannon Uppal (‘21), the all-school vice president of VWS, said, “The process of researching venues was difficult because many of the locations that the student government officers were interested in were either out of the budget or already booked.”

Shannon said, “For next year, this is something we will keep in mind: the earlier we start preparing, the more options we will have.”

The officers decided on a fun and open venue in the heart of L.A. Located in an urban area in downtown Los Angeles, the venue is described as neat and fancy by Jeffrey. 

Abbie said, “The theme was hard to come up with, but since we are in Hollywood, we decided to call it ‘Once Upon A Time in Hollywood’ because it was also the name of the movie that came out recently.”

Shannon said, “As soon as you get off the bus, you will be able to take pictures of the Walk of Fame. It is also next to the Capitol Records building, and students can see the building at the rooftop of Bardot.”

Max Fargo (‘21) said, “I do not know the venue, but I hope it is comfortable and relaxing. I think that student government has done a very good job so far.”

The officers have worked hard to provide the best experience possible.

Abbie said, “We spent the last part of last year thinking about what we want to achieve for homecoming this year. We listed things we could have done better or things that we liked to keep. For example, one thing we wanted to improve from last year’s homecoming was the food. We noticed that by the time the last few buses arrived last year, the food was already gone… we wanted to ensure that everyone eats before going… and when we get there, we will still be serving food so that everyone gets to enjoy it.”

Since it is the only off-campus dance that underclassmen get to participate in for the entire school year, homecoming seeks to provide freshmen and sophomores with a fun night –  especially as they do not have the opportunity to attend prom. 

Sarah Lantz, VWS Dean of Students, said, “I think homecoming is a really fun event…  It comes at a time when students are ready to get off-campus, have a fun night, dress up fancier, and have a good time.”

However, with prom on the calendar, homecoming does not hold as much meaning for upperclassmen.

Isa Flores (‘21) said, “I think that a lot of upperclassmen choose not to go to homecoming because both prom and homecoming are expensive, and for them, prom is more important.”

Student government is not discouraged, and they are making an effort to call for more participants. 

Jeffrey said, “Our goal is to get as many people to come as possible and make sure they have a great time.”

With this in mind, student government uses social media to promote the event. In past years, around three hundred people went to homecoming. This number of anticipated attendees will allow the student government to easily meet their budget.

Student government officers have been directly asking people to buy homecoming tickets in front of the dining hall at lunch, and posting homecoming proposals on Instagram. By posting ticket details and homecoming askings with the offer of free tickets, student government encourages students to attend.

Jaydyn Akpengbe (‘22), president of the WSC class of 2022, said, “Winning free tickets from making homecoming proposals is a very good competition. I have already asked someone to homecoming, and I have more than two hundred likes on Instagram right now… I am very excited for the dance in Hollywood. ”

Max said, “Last year I went with my friends, and it was really fun. Now as a junior, homecoming will be more fun for me because I know more people. I am really looking forward to having a great time overall.”

Isa is also going to homecoming. For her, homecoming is a great experience, a fun memory, and a way to relieve stress. 

She said, “I am going to homecoming because I know it is going to be a fun event where all my friends are going to go, and I like getting dressed up.”

As some students are getting excited about the event, there are also people who prefer not to go. 

Jacob Lockwood (‘22) said, “I am not going to homecoming. The only reason why I would go is that I would want to hang out with friends. We already have better opportunities to hang out. For me, it is not worth the money and the suit.”

TJ Ahn (‘23) said, “For me, it is not the problem of the ticket price. Even if I could go for free, I still would prefer to do something else.”

For those who are considering going, they can always talk to student government officers about their concerns, as the officers are open to advice and criticism. 

Abbie said, “I hope everyone enjoys homecoming this year. We are very open to opinions, so if there’s anything people do not like about this year’s homecoming, they can always reach out to us. We just want to make it better every year.”

As Friday, November 1st, the deadline to buy homecoming tickets approached, students made the decision of whether to go to Bardot, Hollywood and spend a night in the city, or to do other things on their bucket lists.