Homecoming Dance a memorable evening
Thomas Chung
Opinion Editor
On Saturday evening, Gabrielino High School students dressed head-to-toe in semi-formal clothing and arrived as late as 8:30 p.m. to partake in the annual Homecoming Dance.
Earlier in the month, Gabrielino announced that the theme of Homecoming was “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” alluding to the well-known 1993 stop-motion animated musical film produced conceived by Tim Burton. Fittingly, the film was projected in its entirety onto the wall of the Goodson Theater during the dance. Orange-and-black posters and Christmas lights hung around the Dance reflected the theme.
“Homecoming was very different this year,” said junior Ana Lopez. “As an ASB member, we did more to decorate and make Homecoming fun.”
Traditional Homecoming decor was also present during the Dance. Near the Goodman Theater, an immaculately decorated white horse-drawn carriage was left open for attendees to take photos in. While a DJ booth and sound station stood on the steps of the library, a white tent gracing low-strung light bulbs covered wooden panels in the ground marking the dance floor.
While she disliked that the company who was hired to move the tent put it in the wrong place, Assistant principal Ruth Esseln remarked that “the campus [looked] beautiful” and that “[Homecoming] had a great turnout.”
With wide circular tables placed across the quad to seat students who did not wish to dance and an assortment of cookies laid on fold-up tables in the back, students were able to rest and grab refreshments if they wanted to. While there were students sitting down at the beginning of the event, there was eventually a steady flow of students of all grade levels who minged and danced together on the dance floor.
“Homecoming was the funnest experience I’ve had so far this year!” said freshman Stephen Lee. “I’ve made so many memories with my friends during and after the dance. I definitely don’t regret going at all.”
The Homecoming King was announced and crowned during the Homecoming Dance while the Queen was announced and crowned during halftime at the Homecoming Game. All members of the Homecoming Court were voted into their positions by their peers. Sophie Ho and Joseph Garcia, the senior students with the most votes, were selected as Homecoming Queen and King, respectively.
“To be quite honest, I did not expect to win queen because the other girls are all so nice,” explained Ho. “Winning the title of queen didn’t mean much to me [at first], but seeing all my friends and family support me and cheer me on made me realize how special it was.”
