Following months of planning that leads to dancing the night away, a burnt hole remains in students’ pockets. As a kickoff for the rest of the year, homecoming is a very important event for the student body. However, behind the madness of dress shopping and tie matching, a team of heroes works tirelessly for months to make the emptied wallets worth it.
The hustle and bustle of the Miami Palmetto Senior High Activities Office is non-stop: from planning the venue to collecting forms and making sure the decorations are perfect. Many risks must be taken for a successful night. Sometimes, these risks include budget cuts, or in this case, price increases.
Despite an expectation of cries of outrage from the student body after prices for tickets to attend the dance were released, the reactions were quite the opposite.
“We had more students [buy tickets]. Within the two, three days that we released tickets, we had 150 students approximately buy tickets,” Assistant Activities Director Sadhna Seunarine said.
This increase in pricing does come with good reason. To have a night more memorable than last year, Activities Director Elizabeth Valero and her team must make sure to perfect every element pertaining to the dance’s theme. Sometimes, sticking to the theme also means a need for increased funding. On top of this, the pricing of the tickets also depends on the venue, which can fluctuate depending on location, spacing and other variables.
“When we were doing the budget for everything, we were just worried that it would be too high. But so far from what we’ve seen, there have not been any complaints because kids do want to go to homecoming,” Seunarine said.
The team behind the dance has been working non-stop, with meetings beginning a month after the previous homecoming. Last year, immediately following October’s Drive-In-themed dance, planning for a Night Under New York Lights began in November.
“[Valero] does homecoming and activities, but she also does the vendor contracts with the region and the district,” Seunarine said.
With the inclusion of Spirit Week, Valero, Seunarine and the Student Council want to make sure students feel as if they are walking through Times Square.
“It’s a very mutualistic relationship in which they both work to reach the goal. Sometimes if Valero stops, the kids will take over, but Valero and the kids are doing a great job working together,” senior and Student Involvement Senate Chair Zachary El-Assad said.
This year’s spirit week themes include events such as “Dress as an NYC Tourist,” with little activities to accompany each day’s theme. These mini-events building up to the dance also require more funding, so an increase in ticket price aids that effort. There is also the inclusion of Panther Prowl, an event that much of the student body is looking forward to. Selling tickets for this event also helps to fund for future school events and activities.
Most students have faith in the seemingly sudden decision to raise the price, as they believe it will turn out amazing in the end.
“I know what they’re doing for the homecoming will be amazing, so I trust them … I trust that the money will be put to good use,” El-Assad said.
