Annual dance attendance drops

Attendance drop spells concern for future dances, All-School Assembly

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Joe Okkema, News Editor

A nearly 300 person drop in attendance at this year’s homecoming dance continues a growing trend in declining attendance at school dances over the past three years, provoking a sense of concern among those who organize these events.

Only 2,554 students, including non-LT guests, attended this year’s “America” themed homecoming dance on Sept 27. Compared to the approximately 4,000 students enrolled at LT, this figure alarms student council members and advisors.

“I was surprised it was such a lower turnout this year as compared to last year,” student council president Thomas Cushing `15 said. “Not a lot changed as far as the organization of the dance.”

According to a survey administered to students by student council, attendance has declined the most among upperclassmen, particularly among seniors, of whom less than half attended the dance, Director of Student Activities Peter Geddeis said.

“The reasons students have given for not attending are really all over the board,” Geddeis said.

While some students have voiced their disdain for the music played at the dance, others say they have grown tired of going to what they feel is the same dance every year.

The annual King of Hearts (KOH) dance has seen a similar but more prominent decline in attendance, with attendance dropping by more than 900 students in the past three years.

In the past, attendance at the homecoming dance has served as a strong indicator of what attendance at KOH will be, and with this year’s decline, the outlook for attendance at the winter dance is worrisome, Geddeis said.

In anticipation of a smaller attendance, student council plans to spend less money on the overall production of KOH, cutting back on the quality of lighting, sound and the size of the stage in order to save money and end the school year without a deficit.

“It is far more important for us to be financially responsible to the students who are both involved in student council and who also benefit from all the things that we do outside of putting on the dances,” Geddeis said. “We want to be in a better financial situation going into the 2015-2016 school year than we were this year.”

After spending more than usual on last year’s festivities in celebration of LT’s 125th anniversary, student council ended the last school year $4,047 in debt. However, despite the smaller attendance at this year’s homecoming, student council made roughly the same amount of money as last year and no longer faces a debt.

With the current expectations of KOH attendance, however, student council may have to cut back on expenditures for the year’s all school assembly, especially those funds used on the traditional special guest appearance, in order to prevent a deficit.

“I don’t think students realize that so much of the money we spend on the all-school assembly comes from the dances,” Cushing said. “I don’t think they realize that they do have a role in what student council puts on for them throughout the year in the dances and the all-school assembly.”