The time was 10:30p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16 in the PCM High School cafeteria. All the tables had been cleared off to the side of the room, lights were off except for a disco ball and music was blaring from two speakers in the far corner of the room. The Homecoming dance had started. The only thing missing was the student body. The Homecoming Court attendants came to be announced but they left right afterwards. It has been this way for several years now and PCM students know just what the issue is and how to fix it. The dance is supposed to be a prom fundraiser for the junior class, but the last two years, they haven’t broken even. Junior class representative Kim Pettyjohn addressed the issue because it hasn’t always been like this.

“I graduated from PCM in 1998 and back then it was right after the football game. The players would shower and then go to the dance. It was informal and just meant to be a celebration and a time for the Homecoming court to be recognized.”

Pettyjohn has some plans for dances in the future and how to make the dance more popular. She knows the solution: moving the dance to Saturday night after the Friday of the homecoming game.

“There has been talk of moving the dance to Saturday night,” Pettyjohn said. There could also be a theme, maybe even making it a semi formal or formal dance and giving it a theme of some sort.”

   Senior Brayden Nessa plays football and that is why he didn’t go to the dance. He agrees completely with Pettyjohn’s reasoning and would go if he had the energy.

“I didn’t go to the homecoming dance because I was really tired after the game,” Nessa said. “I would go if it was on Saturday night because then I would have time to sleep after the game and rest in general.”

Junior Faith Defenbaugh echoed Nessa’s words because Homecoming week is exhausting for everybody, with dress up days at school, Spirit Night and all the other homework and regular activities. 

“I did not go to the dance because I was really tired from toilet-papering the football player’s houses,” Defenbaugh said. “I would go if it was on Saturday night.”

PCM student body president Sylar Burns knows about the time issue and added that this year, there was a volleyball tournament on Saturday, which took away any chance that the volleyball players would go to the dance. She and Pettyjohn have similar ideas. 

“There was a volleyball tournament the next day as well as a band competition,” Burns explained. “I just think that homecoming week is exhausting for everyone and after the football game everyone was tired and just wanted to go home. I think more people would come if it was on Saturday and if there was a theme, maybe. As of now it is just a regular dance. If there was a reason to go, people would go.”

The main purpose of changing the dance is to improve the quality of life for students at PCM and give them something to look forward to. That is why there are efforts to change it: to make it what it is supposed to be. 

“The purpose of the dance is supposed to be to celebrate homecoming one last time. Everyone can get together and have fun at the end of a great week,” Pettyjohn said.