(October, 27, 2011) — Under the scorching autumn sun, seniors gathered at the fiesta-themed senior barbecue held on Oct. 14. Seniors wore red-beaded necklaces with a red chili pepper dangling from them. They ate Mexican candy and ice cream. Hot dogs, quesadillas and nachos with cheese occupied the plates of hungry students. Shakira’s “Loca” and other festive music played loudly. The authentic decorations included vibrant sombreros and, of course, a piñata. The piñata dangled over everyone, but never revealed its treats due to certain safety issues, according to a senior class vice president. Being a Clark experience, senior barbecue could easily get some students to think about their memories as Clarkies. “As I see everybody I think about all the memories I’ve had here,” said Marvin Alvarado. “I’m just happy to be with my friends that I’ve known for four years.” Orzhen Rushanyan, wearing a black and gold sombrero, said she thinks senior barbecue is a good experience. “It’s a good way to hang out with friends, but a Mardi Gras theme would be better,” said Rushanyan. Although easy to have fun, it’s “difficult” to make that fun happen, according to Alyssa Mathew-Joseph, senior class secretary. Matthew-Joseph said she thought that the outcome of the senior barbecue was really good, and said that she was pleased that people enjoyed the food. According to Mathew-Joseph, a challenge the committee faced was that there were so many students to provide for with a limited budget. The committee only had a $500 budget, and had the responsibility of feeding 254 students. The coordinators went over the budget just to make everyone happy, she said. “You’re limited with what you can do with that much money,” said Mathew-Joseph. Amalia Hakobyan, senior class vice president, said that going over the budget was “worth it,” as the event went well. “We did our best with our budget,” Hakobyan said. Hakobyan said that she is glad that they’re done working on the senior barbecue, because they can now move onto planning prom. “We were really grateful for the staff, the class of 2012, and the PTSA for helping us out with the set up and cooking,” Hakobyan said.