Winter Formal Tickets Pros vs. Cons
PHOTO COURTESY OF Memphis Nafarrate: This photo showcases Memphis Nafarrate and her friends dressed up and ready for the winter formal.
March 1, 2022
As the 2022 Winter Formal crept around the corner, it seemed to me not many kids were enthusiastic about the idea. When a set of 20 2nd-period-unscheduled students in the library were asked whether they were attending this year’s Winter Formal, only one said yes. QUEST 9th grader Alex Coakley said, “Honestly, I feel like not a lot of people are going.”
Xavier Padilla, a 10th grader in SEGA added, “I just don’t think it’s worth it for the price considering a full meal isn’t even being offered.”
Although the idea is to have fun and create memories with your friends, paying $100 and still having the stress of finding formal attire that fits the dress code along with nails, hair, makeup, limousine, and corsages can be overwhelming for some. It also might have seemed slightly insignificant considering planning a hangout with your friends can be just as fun for less than half the price.
Of course there are also upsides to the formal. Mr. Robinson, Millikan Activities Director begged to differ, “Even though the venue price has increased for us during the pandemic, we have still kept the price in the same range for the past five to six years.” The Winter Formal was held at the Honda Center and offered the red carpet package, a DJ, interactive photo booth, LED gaming system which includes a light up billiards, ping pong, shuffleboard, and foosball tables. Light refreshments, snacks, and desserts were also available.
Perhaps all of these offered activities make the price seem slightly more justifiable. Mr. Robinson said that around 729 students bought tickets. Although 729 out of about 3,517 is only 20% of our student body, Mr. Robinson was proud to still have kids interested in the experience because, “it offers a sense of belonging.” Mr. Robinson also mentioned that typically before the pandemic began there were 750-850 students who attended the formals. Considering the changes in the past few years, selling so many tickets is a huge win.
Perhaps the best option is offering fundraisers to help pay for the venue so that the ticket prices can be lower in general. Ticket prices can be determined after observing how much effort is put into the fundraiser. Overall the Winter Formal gives students a reason to dress up and have fun, but offering opportunities to lower the price would be much more beneficial.
Rori Wilfong • Mar 7, 2022 at 12:27 pm
Dear Corydon Editor,
In issue 5 published March 1, 2022, Arianna Garcia wrote the article titled, “Winter Formal Tickets Pros vs. Cons” , about the Winter formal dance that took place on February 12. The article starts off with short responses of interviews from different students being asked if they were attending the dance. One of the students interviewed said that they didn’t think it was worth the $100 we had paid if there’s not even a full meal being offered to us. After having to do online school for a year and a half, my friends and I were personally super excited to attend the dance as we were not able to get a high school experience for two years. Before attending the dance we were super excited about going, being able to go dress shopping and being able to get ready with one another. Once we had gotten to the dance and were with the crowd it was different than we expected. Because of the location of the dance floor, students were restricted from jumping to specific songs which took the fun out of it. Though I completely understand it was a safety hazard, it made the dance less fun than it could have been. Halfway through the night the bright string lights turned on and everyone was clearly disappointed due to the vibe being ruined. We all did get used to the change in lighting but you could easily tell that people weren’t as happy. Yes, there were some disappointments with the dance, but it was still fun being able to attend and have fun with other students.
Sincerely,
Rori Wilfong, Grade 11
Samantha Torres • Mar 7, 2022 at 11:12 am
In issue 5/2022 (published March 1, 2022) Arianna Garcia wrote an article titled “Winter Formal Tickets Pros vs. Cons”. The article talks about how Winter Formal wasn’t that popular among students this year. Apparently not a lot of students wanted to attend the event and overall were not interested in it. Many students, including myself, didn’t attend the event because it was just too expensive and the price didn’t seem worth it. I really wanted to go to Winter Formal this year and I had a dress and everything except people to go with. My friends didn’t want to go to the event because it was just too expensive, which really sucks because I feel like events should be made for all students to enjoy. Not everyone can afford the $100 ticket plus a new outfit, accessories, and everything else associated with going to the dance. According to my friends at other schools like Lakewood and Wilson, the ticket price for their dance started way under $100, so why is ours more expensive? I wonder if there will be a change in future Winter Formals after what happened this year.
Kayla • Mar 7, 2022 at 10:16 am
In Issue 5/2022 (published March 1, 2022), Arianna Garcia, wrote an article titled “Winter Formal Tickets Pros vs. Cons” The article mentions the high winter formal price tickets and how some have voiced the concern that it does not seem “worth it” to pay $100 on this dance. I love how Arianna provided both sides to the topic. She interviewed a group of kids and also had Mr. Robinson speak on the topic too. My only concern is that even though school dances are a privilege, kids should not have to give up a big part of the “highschool experience” because of a money issue. Even though the price of ventures have gone up, I still think that price could have been brought down more, and if the venue was too expensive with ticket prices lowered, then maybe we should find a different venue. Overall, this article was amazing, showing both points of view and also providing a reasonable solution. Thank you for bring this to my attention.