On Friday, October 21st, Garfield High is holding its Homecoming dance, the first dance for almost all current students, but the dysfunction leading up to the dance has set everyone on edge. This year’s Hoco is at the Aquarium, and to make up for the money lost on the venue, the school initially limited it to 400 tickets at $30 each. 

The problems started on day one of ticket sales for the dance. On Tuesday, October 11, the mob of students waiting in line to buy tickets in the commons was a concerning sight. Rows and rows of students gathered, swarming the hallway from the front of the school to the right-side reaching the first-floor vending machines. Students were pushing and shoving to try and get to the front of the line, with no attempts of control from Garfield staff. Those selling the tickets on the first day were checking the student’s schedule, taking so long that only about 30 out of the hundreds of students waiting were successful in purchasing tickets that day. The next morning students got to school as early as 7:45 to ensure their spot in line. Initially the school was only offering 400 tickets, which started quite the controversy amongst students about who should get the limited access to this exclusive event. Should it be the seniors who don’t get another chance? The juniors and sophomores who are finally getting into the social part of high school? Or the freshmen who want to be part of Garfield culture for the first time? 

A dance is supposed to be a fun school event, full of good music, food, and dancing. A time for school spirit and an excuse to dress up. It is also an opportunity for the school to make a little money from selling all the tickets. Garfield’s HOCO is being held downtown at the Aquarium. The reason the school was initially selling such little tickets was that the original capacity for this venue was a mere 400 people. The problem with such a low amount of tickets is that the price must be high enough for the school to break even, let alone make any money out of this event. The price being $30 per student, $25 if you have ASB, raises the question of how equitable these school events really are. Is it fair to charge so much money, especially when only cash is acceptable? Or does that lead to a divide between students? Is it okay for students to have different access to school events because of costs like this?

Thankfully, the school heard the cries of the students and on Wednesday, October 12th, admin decided to raise the amount to 800 tickets, sending out an email saying the demand for tickets “this year has [exceeded] pre-pandemic demand”. This increase makes tickets much more accessible, and while they’re still a hot commodity, hopefully more of the student body will have access to this magical night.. Although there were now 800 tickets available in all, the line to the attendance office still stretched much of the first floor as students waited eagerly hoping they weren’t too late. While Garfield increased the number of student tickets, there were still only 50 guest tickets.  Admin explained “Sales should be reserved to Garfield heads only. No additional guest forms available”. These forms required for purchase were not even available after Wednesday, October 12, the day after tickets went on sale.  The original price and number of tickets, along with the lack of planning from the school, caused many problems among the students of Garfield, but ticket sales for Homecoming 2022 officially sold out Monday, October 18th, and even with all the chaos, students seem excited for this Night Under the Sea…