After making the Pink Dance an annual event and after winning the Massachusetts Association of Student Councils Top Ten Project award the past two years for their newest events — “Girls Night Out” and the “Rebel Showcase” — Walpole High School’s Student Council clearly is not afraid to try something new.
So when Student Council decided to have a spring dance, they did not want a traditional “Spring Fling” dance — they wanted a “Rebel Rave.” On Friday, March 21, the Walpole High School Student Council hosted the first Rebel Rave — a neon-themed dance aimed at supporting the Make-A-Wish foundation. Held in the high school cafeteria from 7:00-10:30, the dance raised $500 with a record number of students in attendance at 240.
Student Council President Jack Stedman said, “We’re hoping that this is going to become another annual dance at WHS. It’s completely different than any of the other dances students can attend and offers a great opportunity to make a contribution to a worthy cause.”
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wish of a child diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition every 38 minutes. Although the dance did not generate enough money to fund an entire wish (the wishes each cost about $7,500), the dance was the most successful Student Council dance of the year — beating the attendance numbers of both the Winter Ball and the Pink Dance.
“Because Make-A-Wish has benefitted this community in the past, it is a meaningful cause that really unifies the student body,” said junior Event Chair Annie Gallivan. “It is an important cause for students because they are able to help other children and teenagers during a difficult time.”
When Student Council decided to name the dance the “Rebel Rave,” they anticipated some disapproval from the negative connotations of the unconventional name. Gallivan said, “I know some parents and teachers disliked the name because when people think of raves, they think of crazy college parties that get out of hand rather than a school dance, but it was solely meant to be a unique spin-off of a spring-fling.”
However, despite the negative connotations, the new name definitely caught the attention of the student body.
“I had a lot of fun at the dance,” said senior Olivia Casey, “I loved how StuCo decided to have another informal dance since we usually only one each year.”
Student Council members spent the afternoon before the dance putting black lights in place, hanging black sheets over the windows to enhance the effects of the black lights, and setting up a table for refreshments — mostly water and lollipops. Students who attended the dance wore different combinations of white and neon colors to go along with the neon, casual theme of the dance.
Also, Student Council members handed out free glow-sticks throughout the night to add to the neon theme of the dance. In addition, DJ Blaque, who has become a familiar face at Walpole High School dances, returned to WHS after playing music at both the Pink Dance and Winter Ball this year.
Student Council once again rented a photobooth; however, it was broken for the entirety of the night, so no students were able to use it. Gallivan said, “That was the one big thing I would want to change about the dance. The photobooth has become really popular at the dances the past couple of years, and I think some of the students there were disappointed that they weren’t able to use it.”
After having a high number of students attend, it is likely that this dance will be brought back for future years. Junior Event Chair Claudia Schoenthaler said, “When we’ve held other dances in the past for the first time, we’ve been lucky to break even in our expenses but with this dance we raised over $500, so we definitely considered it to be a success.”
