Homecoming Staying Home
For over 25 years, the Cedar Shoals homecoming dance has been held on Cedar’s campus, and despite ongoing construction projects, that will not change this year.
Students can expect one slight change in accessibility at the dance. The outdoor patio to the cafeteria will be off-limits due to construction, and the main commons will accompany the cafeteria instead. With much of the school under construction, the Student Government Association (SGA), looked at off-campus options as a potential alternative.
“We were considering the Athens Sports Arena and the board of education building, as well as the Cedar gym with a tarp on the floor,” senior SGA president Annie Johnson said.
Of these options, the Athens Sports Arena was seriously considered. However, taking in consideration the price of the venue and its location being over 20 minutes away from the school, a majority of SGA members opposed the idea.
“Since I don’t really go over there (towards the Athens Sports Arena), it would have not been convenient for me. I also don’t like driving at night, especially if I don’t know the area,” senior Meylin Barrera said.
SGA members expressed concern over a lack of parking spaces at the venue and they did not like the idea of driving off-campus in order to attend a school event.
“I’ve been driving for over a year now, and I would not feel comfortable driving that far because it’s at night, and I don’t think students should have to drive that far for homecoming,” Johnson said.
Another idea was to transport students via buses from Cedar to the dance and back. However, with these buses being run only before and after the dance and not during, a majority of SGA members disapproved.
Ultimately, after a majority vote, SGA decided that the dance would remain in the cafeteria. While the outdoor patio’s closure brought initial doubts, Johnson remains positive.
“I think the dynamic will be different because last year, it was really nice to have a place to go outside and get some fresh air. But I don’t think that will really mess with the energy of the dance. I still think it’ll be very fun,” Johnson said.
CLOSED CAFETERIA AND COMMONS: Images show the Cedar Shoals cafeteria (left) and commons area (right) without any windows. The windows and outdoor patio entrance of the cafeteria have been closed by walls as construction is ongoing. Despite these changes, Student Government Association (SGA) advisor Beth Mendenhall believes this year’s homecoming dance will be a success. “I think the vibe is really good. This year I’m feeling a lot of positive energy out of SGA,” Mendenhall said. Photos by Katie Kulik.
The theme for this year’s dance is “A Night In Paris.” According to SGA advisor Beth Mendenhall, this theme was chosen because it was especially applicable to this year.
“I think it’s relevant to this year because of the Olympics. It (the theme) just came from the students. That is the cool part. I like that there’s a strong student voice. It’s very student driven,” Mendenhall said.
Alongside the Olympics, the Paris theme brought additional positive characteristics.
“I like it because it’s Paris. A lot of people like Paris, and when they think about Paris, they think of a lot of things, like romance. I’m excited for the decorations and everything,” Barrera said.
The homecoming dance will be held on Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will be sold starting in the first week of September during lunches, and can also be found on GoFan. Ticket prices are $15 in advance and $20 at the door, an increase from last dance when they were $7 in advance and $10 at the door. Johnson believes that this increase was necessary in order to produce exciting events in the future.
“Most other high schools have high ticket prices. I think Central charges around $20, and that’s their starting price. So, we thought it’d be better to raise the price so we can have money for future events,” Johnson said.
