Students criticize Homecoming dance changes

San Marin students complained that the DJ’s choice of music and time-consuming security resulted in a less than memorable night for them.
Sophomore Bella Goodwin attended both San Marin and Novato High School’s Homecoming as well and preferred it to San Marin’s.
“I don’t know what exactly made [Novato’s Homecoming] better,” Goodwin said. “Maybe it was the fact that they played actual songs and had a great DJ or that they had great lights and everyone danced and participated.”
Students who did not enjoy the night expressed that they were not happy with the DJ’s personal song choice. They claimed the music was not well-known or the best choice for a Homecoming dance.
“Not a ton of people knew what the songs that the DJ was playing were,” sophomore Kamryn Mahan said. “He wasn’t playing very popular songs that everybody would have known.”
DJ Kaos, who was hired after his performance at Winter Whiteout and Spring Fling last year, was given a playlist of songs put together by the leadership class. However, this playlist was not heard at the dance, and instead the DJ played his own song choices.
“Unfortunately, the DJ’s music was out of leadership’s hands,” Senior Class Vice President Jimena Lara said. “We handed him a solid playlist that had all genres of music, but he chose not to play it.”
Students also took issue with the increased security at the dance, claiming that the security proved unorganized time-consuming.“I think the security was smart, but it took way too long and I didn’t get in until a half hour after [the dance] started,” freshman              Jenna Nottingham said.“If the security was faster, it would have made [the dance] better.”
The new security measures were taken to prevent students from bringing alcohol or drugs into the dance. Upon arriving at the gym, students were instructed to wait in two lines: a security check to find any contraband a student could be carrying on their person and an identification line to check each student’s school ID.
Students who waited in the first line and had passed an inspection were marked with a small black “X” on the back of their hand. This was needed to go through the second line and into the dance.
According to Assistant Principal Mike Casper, student conduct at previous dances led to a need for more security.
“Last Homecoming, it was pretty horrible,” Casper said. “When the dance was over, there were empty alcohol bottles; vaping was going on inside the dance. When we had [Winter Whiteout], enough is enough. This is a school. This isn’t a rave. This isn’t the Snowglobe Festival. This is a high school dance. We’re not having this anymore.”
Some students reportedly circumvented the security.                                                                      “I stamped my hand on someone else’s to get their ‘X’ and get into the dance without waiting in the line,” a student who insisted on anonymity out of fear for disciplinary consequences said.
The dance also ended a half hour early, which was said to be a result of the lack of chaperones and students’ desires to leave early.
Although some students felt more popular music could have been played and better organizational efforts could have been made, many students still managed to have a good time.
“I thought homecoming was still fun despite the DJ, because the music only sets the tone of the dance and the rest is what you make it to be,” sophomore Bella DeRuvo said. “Also, the fact my friends just know how to party made it fun.”