(March 20, 2002) — The last two casual dances here have been such failures it’s hard not to notice that no one really wants to do anything that has anything to do with this school. The decorations from the previous casual dances were pathetic, with never more than five streamers taped on the auditeria walls and clusters of balloons placed randomly in the front near the stage. Our casual dances have weak themes and sparse decorations sadly strewn half-heartedly on the walls. It’s no wonder no one feels like participating. Our school doesn’t have much spirit or pride in the first place, save the administration and teachers, and the last couple of canceled dances show it. ASB Senior Class Secretary Lisa Min commented, “Students have said that our [dances] resemble junior high dances.” And who can argue? With the gates being locked in front and administrators patrolling the grounds, one cannot but feel a bit tense. Students are locked in the auditeria during the beginning of the dance; it’s a bit difficult to just relax and have fun when one is forced to. And if monotonous techno music isn’t being shot over the speakers, it’s always either headache inducing hardcore rap or that horrible remix stuff. What we really need is a separate group of students that focuses on just these casual dances. It should be left up to this group to organize and promote these events because ASB is undoubtedly not made to play the part of both student representative and the school pep squad. And we need students to negotiate with the forces up there to just give us a little room to breathe. But what’s more, we need better music that goes with stronger themes, more promotion of these events, nicer decorations and most of all, a reason to want to go. We can learn something from this year’s junior prom. Even as leftovers, the decorations looked fantastic, and the event itself boasted several tall heat lamps around the stone tables and artistic and tasteful banners that covered the auditeria walls. Casual dances don’t have to have all the hoopla of a prom night surrounding them, but we need more than the humdrum 3-5:30 p.m. techno-music-in-a-dark-room scene. We need to start putting some effort into making students’ high school years at least enjoyable, if not memorable. Establishing a dance committee is a small but significant step towards reaching that goal.