In years past, juniors and seniors would congregate at the Infomart the Saturday after Jesuit’s homecoming football game for the annual homecoming dance, however, this year’s dance will be held on campus, instead of its traditional location. This change in venue, while not seeming very groundbreaking, will greatly improve the overall state of homecoming.
After “crunching the numbers,” they discovered that they could save an estimated $15,000 by taking the dance away from the Infomart, and moving it to a more friendly location, the Terry Center. Dean of Student Affairs Mark Knize put it, “Prom is a dance, but homecoming is a party,” so regardless of where it is held, homecoming will be an exciting event; and what better place to hold homecoming than right at home? To the planners of the dance, it was only logical to bring the dance back home, to the 28 acres.
By not renting out the Infomart, the dance itself will also be more heavily funded than in previous years. “Things like bigger raffles, better catering, and better DJ’s will all now be funded by this saved money… it will be really interesting to see how homecoming turns out now that our budget grew so much,” said junior class co-president, Jimmy Buckley ‘14.
Because homecoming is still over a month away, details about how exactly the money will be spent are not yet concrete. Junior class co-president, Matt Siess ‘14 explained, “We just finished the long-awaited freshman mixer, so we haven’t really had time to discuss specifics of homecoming.”
Ideas are being tossed around, though, like the use of the cafeteria to house the catering, instead of the food and dance being in the same room. Another thought is the reduction in price of homecoming tickets, which would positively impact everyone. These ideas and many more are being considered by both the student council and the Jesuit administration.
The money saved will be much better utilized improving the actual dance than it would be renting out the Infomart. The opportunities that go along with changing venues are seemingly endless, and one can only wait to see what the student council puts together for what could be the greatest homecoming dance in school history.
