ASB: Homecoming is an event most schools are proud of, but the methods for putting it together at Poly are a bit too stringent.
By Isabel De La Garza, Senior Writer
Poly’s October 1 Homecoming Assembly was one of the most spectacular assemblies many students have seen so far, with its spectacular light play, numerous costumed students and high energy. It was a great example of what most students and former students expect when it comes to an event based on school spirit. Many students, however, feel that the policies used to put on Homecoming are far too strict.
Each club that wishes to participate in Homecoming must have 40 dollars to pay for its booth. As booths are taken down and reconstructed each year it is a reasonable fee for the time and labor provided by the administration of the event. The caveat is that to participate in Homecoming the club must also have at least three members participate in the Lip Sync competition in order to avoid being charged 50 dollars. After picking the Homecoming Princes and Princesses, many new and previously existing clubs lack the amount of members necessary to participate, because the Princes and Princesses are ineligible for Lip Sync for their own clubs. Additionally, since a person cannot participate in Lip Sync for more than one club, and many students belong to numerous clubs, the pool of volunteers runs even smaller.
Homecoming costs now ring up to 90 dollars. Yet this amount does not even include the costs incurred by having a Prince and Princess. Princes and Princesses are required to dress up every day during Spirit Week, which means they must have at least four different costumes for the first four days of the week and articles of orange and green clothing for the last day. Sometimes students do not have the money to procure such costumes, so they choose to borrow from friends or use club funds for costumes. This significant spending is also dangerous for new clubs as they generally have not built up their treasuries enough to spare money on costumes.
In addition to the many other time-consuming processes Princes and Princesses carry out, they must ride in formal attire in a topless vehicle (with a driver) in the Homecoming Parade. Since not every student has access to a convertible, some clubs have ridden bicycles (which is quite an impressive feat considering the lack of mobility and breathability of fancy clothes) or have sat in the beds of trucks instead. At times parents are more than generous and rent a car or lend out their vehicle for the parade, but not every club is so lucky; therefore, some decide not to participate in Homecoming.
Another reason many clubs have trouble with their “royalty” is that Homecoming is split into two days. The dance, which all Princes and Princesses must attend, occurs on October 13, while the game, parade and Homecoming Fair take place on October 20 (all Princes and Princesses must also attend this). Furthermore, ASB requires the Princes and Princesses to pay the ten dollar entry fee to the dance, where the Princes and Princesses are simply put on display once more, and only pays for the eight dollar game ticket where the Homecoming King and Queen are chosen from the contestants. Most Princes and Princesses are seniors with college planning on their minds and wish to save as much time for college planning as possible. Homecoming also takes up a lot of time for Princes and Princesses with prior engagements and sometimes they lose sleep or high grades because they simply do not have time in their schedule. As a result, students are unable to participate as Princes and Princesses, which causes many clubs to back out of Homecoming.
Not participating in Homecoming, however, draws less attention to a club and makes it harder to recruit new members during the year. To new clubs this can be a death blow, as they are still trying to get on their feet and stay active. All these requirements just cause students to stress out over Homecoming, when the event is supposed to be a fun highlight of the first semester. It would be better to have simpler requirements and a lot of fun.