School dances have outworn welcome in student life

Student’s feeds on social media are overwhelmingly filled with the same poses, dresses, and captions whenever school dances take place throughout the year. Though these posts are a way to appreciate such a memorable portion of one’s high school experience, it can also serve as a headache for those that struggle to enjoy these kinds of extroverted events. Do schools fail to achieve unity among all their students upon their dance floor, or is the overall concept designed only for a certain crowd? 

Many students' social batteries drain as pressure builds and the school year goes on, causing them to feel pure negativity towards any topic surrounding their education. By creating dances throughout the year, schools decided to kill two birds with one stone, fostering a sense of pride and unity, all while hopefully combating the negative stigmas.

Though it was designed to be an exciting social event for all, the numerous restrictions and stipulations regarding ticket accessibility causes many to be left out of this experience. Although the requirement of being a student in good standing in order to attend can be seen as a motivating factor to become one, it may also take a toll on the mental health of those that aren’t in such a position. People won’t feel motivated to become a better student and put their best effort in if they aren’t able to take part in an archetypal school social event. 

Tickets overall can be a pain to purchase, but especially for prom. Prom tickets are known to be much more expensive than any other dance, due to the fancier hall in which it takes place rather than the school's gym floor. However, cost can just highlight economic inequalities among the student body. This also creates a stressful environment, furthering the gap between students of different economic situations. 

Additionally, an unspoken standard that exists among the student body is having a date to the dance. Couples flourish during this time as “promposal,”, dance pictures, and couple’s dinners are constantly being promoted. Unfortunately, those without an interpersonal relationship feel as if they miss out on this experience. Though the dance room is packed with people in every corner, students without a partner feel it as the loneliest place to be.

Having a date is not the only somewhat unrealistic social standard, but also purchasing the perfect dress that fits in with the most recent trends. As people know, there are certain norms when it comes to dresses for different occasions. Homecoming is for short dresses, prom is for long dresses etc. Even though there is an endless amount of options for each occasion, those that find a certain style uncomfortable tend to have a harder time finding a dress. This can make the entire experience tiresome and stressful, just because of the outfit. Moreover, dresses this time of year are known for emptying students’ already scarce pockets. The prices can be outrageously expensive, and make it feel as if it is a competition of who can purchase the more costly dress. The trouble of finding a dress that meets all these expectations leads to many just disregarding the idea of showing up at any dance, therefore defeating the purpose that dances were built on.

Although those that don’t attend often feel out of the loop, they aren’t necessarily missing out on anything. School dances typically carry the same atmosphere no matter what time of year it is. An unfortunate part of these events are the songs. Students feel excited to party and dance, only to find out that the music being played was created what feels like ages ago. Though there are many great songs from decades past, it gets repetitive and boring to listen to songs which were created for a far different audience. Schools' fear of playing anything with a slightly inappropriate undertone has led students to feeling passionless as soon as they enter. 

Many argue that the most entertaining portion of the dance is not even the school dance itself. The after parties and hangouts are considerably more fun as students don’t need to rely on the restrictions and rules that are applied by the school, often meaning unsafe activities come into play. This is exactly what schools do not advocate for, yet every dance occasion opens up more opportunities to engage in unsafe behavior. One could go so far as to say that school dances can be seen as a gateway to it.

At the end of the day, school dances may be more of a hassle than they’re worth, as the values of their creation don’t necessarily fit today’s world.

by  Haniya Mecci

Published February 26 2024

Oshkosh West Index Volume 120 Issue V