OPINION: Policy enforcement about dancing sends Homecoming into tailspin

Editorials with bylines are personal opinions of the authors and do not reflect the views of the administration or student body. 

As many may know, the 2019 MHS Homecoming Dance did not go exactly as planned. From the majority of students leaving the dance fed up with administration to threatening rumors starting, students and families were very unhappy with Monroe Public School District.

The main reason students left the dance was due to the restriction on dancing and music by administration, teachers, and chaperones. A statement was released by faculty saying “Dirty dancing, in any form, will not be tolerated at the event. All school rules and expectations apply at all after school activities.” They also mentioned that when you purchase a ticket, you must agree to the statement. Most of the student body was aware of this procedure. When the dance occurred, there was a mass crowd of students circled up. They claimed to simply be jumping around to the music, not participating in any inappropriate dancing. Multiple faculty members were present in the gym watching the students. It was reported by several students that chaperones were standing in the dance crowd to stop dancing and essentially “ruin the fun” even if the students were not dancing in an unsuitable manner. The lights were on in the gym the whole time and the music choice was not current and popular with most students.. Song choices such as “YMCA” by Village People and “Cha Cha Slide” by DJ Casper were played within the first hour of the dance. Those songs are not very appealing to teenagers, as many could guess. The students felt very uncomfortable and dissatisfied, causing hundreds of them to leave the dance. Groups of students then assembled in other areas of Monroe, such as the abandoned Crafts 2000 on Monroe Street to continue their homecoming festivities.

Another cause of the mass exodus of students was due to the false shooting threat. When the huge crowd left, rumors started to spread. The shooting threat was one of them that was passed through the grapevine. Students thought that there was a threatening occurrence which caused the majority of people to exit the gym. After the rumor had spread, several students were having mental breakdowns and became very frightened. The false alarm caused even more students to leave the dance, and also had multiple parents very concerned for their children. A homecoming dance is supposed to be a time for friends to gather and appreciate their school, yet at MHS it’s exactly the opposite due to chaos.

The origin of the large number of students exiting the dance was caused by constraints created by administration and fake news. The whole school was in turmoil. The stringent rules by admin caused these alarming events to happen. These occurrences should open the eyes of faculty and make them wonder; did we take things too far?