By Grace Givan, copy editor
Junior Kiley Whisler, an attendee of the 2018 Homecoming Dance, describes the dance as having an unwelcoming ambiance due to the amount of light in the gymnasium.
“Honestly, I didn’t like the lights being on,” Whisler said. “… I think at the beginning everyone felt a little weird and no one really knew what was going on. I didn’t realize the dance started until the 3rd song I heard, and I know some people who just left.”
Assistant Principal of Student Activities Frank Mirandola acknowledges students’ discontent with the dance, and attributes the light situation to technical difficulties.
The field house got approximately 55 new, more efficient lights this year, six of which are emergency lights. These six lights are connected to the exit signs in the field house, and it is against fire code to turn those off.
Mirandola adds that the administrative team will reflect on the
outcomes of the dance within the next week. According to Mirandola, it is probable that they will look into pre-programming in order to remove the connection between the exit signs and the emergency lights, as it is not an option to completely turn off the exit signs and emergency lights for future dances.
“The bottom line is when you look at our role here as a school, we have to keep students save as a No. 1 [priority]. And No. 2 is the student experience overall. … So, unfortunately, I know there are some frustrations, [and] we’ve heard the frustrations and understand the frustrations. We are looking to hopefully create a solution to make it a better atmosphere moving forward.”

 
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