Record 750 students attend this year’s homecoming

By 7 p.m., hundreds of students began to check in at the pavilion where they were soon presented with a walk across a red carpet into the world of the 1920s.

Oak Park’s Associated Student Body hosted the annual homecoming dance Oct. 5. A redecorated foyer led into the school gym, which was renovated as a dance floor, with a DJ from SOS Entertainment, a concessions table with baked goods, chandeliers, a photo booth, a pretzel stand and a cotton candy cart.

After days of lead-up and advertisement, around 750 students attended the 2018 homecoming. The dance team contributed to getting the audience excited at both the rally and homecoming football game, according to ASB president Danielle Gould.

“This was the first rally of the year, so [the team] worked incredibly hard at practice to perfect their performance and build endurance,” dance coach Elizabeth Gentile wrote to the Talon. “For this routine, the choreographers/captains Grace Fraser and Emily Glickstein really wanted an entertaining routine with new tricks and fun choreography. It was probably the most challenging routine they have done so far.”

ASB worked to sell more tickets than they had in previous years.

“I remember breaking record sales last year and wanting to break it again this year and we did,” Gould wrote to the Talon. “750 tickets were sold.”

In the middle of the dance, students gathered outside the gym in the lunch area after a fire alarm was triggered at 10:17 p.m. However, the dance was back on in less than 10 minutes.

“While I was outside, out of nowhere, the fire alarm just blares,” sophomore Eddie Park said. “Everyone was clapping and asking for a refund, sarcastically of course.”

Students crowded between the gym and the pavilion area as the fire alarm continued.

“Personally, it was definitely upsetting to hear people chant, ‘Refund!’ after only a few minutes of standing outside,” Gould wrote. “I completely understand why students were unhappy, but it was disappointing because of how much effort goes into putting on a dance, especially in the middle of all of the other homecoming week festivities.”

The alarm recurred minutes later at 10:23 p.m. when students, once again, chanted for a refund, while crowded outside. Principal Kevin Buchanan and the teacher chaperones arrived soon after to inform ASB on the situation.

“The smoke alarm went off due to the smoke from the DJ’s set up,” Gould wrote. “The smoke machines are utilized in order to increase the effects of the lights and probably just accumulated too much, thus triggering the alarms.”

Students continued to dance until 11 p.m., when the dance ended.

“I was extremely happy with the turnout this year,” Gould wrote. “It’s so rewarding to see your peers having fun at an event ASB put so much thought into.”