Drinking minor issue at first dance

The scene was wild. Flashing lights, blasting music and cardboard animal cutouts filled the quad as hundreds of students gathered for an exotic, safari-themed quad dance. Drinking was only a minor problem.

This was the beginning of the year dance, themed “Born to Be Wild,” which took place in the quad on Friday, Aug. 29, from 8-11 p.m.

This was the school’s first non-formal dance since the drinking that occurred at last December’s Blacklight Dance, which led to the cancellation of the Sadie Hawkins Dance in the spring. Colorful safari themed costumes stood out in the night and the crowd of dancing students seemed to enjoy the atmosphere. “There were a couple of incidents where police were forced to escort out students due to drinking, the night generally ran smoothly,” said dance commissioner Melissa Lin.

Since the Blacklight Dance, the administration has intensified supervision and security but is relying on the students to help police themselves. They hope the students will have the common sense not to drink at the dance and understand the consequences if they do.

“I hope this year students understand that they get one dance and if they mess it up that’s it for the year,” said assistant principal Karen Hyde.

Although the situation has drastically improved from last year, there were still issues with drinking and dress code at the first dance. Assistant principal Joe Bosco shook every student’s hand at the door to see if they were clearly intoxicated. Later on some students were pulled aside and tested with a Breathalyzer.

Inappropriate dress was also an issue at the dance.

“Our main concern with dress code is that girls aren’t covering their midriffs,” said dance commissioner Neyha Bhat.

It seems as though students are starting to be responsible about drinking at dances, dance commissioners said. “The atmosphere overall was very positive and this dance could be considered a great step forward,” said Lin.