Unlike many other towns, Walpole does not allow students to plan a homecoming football game or dance. Homecoming is a tradition at school that usually takes place sometime in September or October that serves to welcome back students to school. The day of actual homecoming includes a “homecoming” football game that is followed by the homecoming dance shortly after the game is done.  Some schools go as far as having a spirit week leading up to the day of homecoming to allow the students to adjust back to school in a fun way. 

For Walpole High School students, this tradition is no more. The homecoming dance is something that was taken away years ago at Walpole High, but is still talked about each year. The students believed that just homecoming would be taken away from them but what they did not realize was that all dances would further be canceled. 

“After escorting intoxicated kids off the dance-floor for the last five consecutive dances, I decided we needed to take a break”, Principal Imbush said in a 2016 interview. 

For students, dances are supposed to be a fun and memorable night with their fellow classmates who they may not see everyday. They are a way to support the school by fundraising, but also in a way it brings the school and students together. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, students have felt really disconnected to one another, and homecoming is a dance that its set purpose is to bring the school together for the new year. 

In many ways the homecoming dance would benefit the Walpole High School as a community such as raising money for the school while also allowing students to have a stress free night away from academics. 

In this situation specifically, the benefits outweigh the downside because there are things the administration can do to ensure the safety of students at these dances. This could include things like making sure no substances are brought into the dance or even just trusting that students are making the right choices. The behavior of the students will not hurt the school, it will only be hurting the students themselves if the bad choices are made. The choices of the students who abused alcohol were many years back, so it is not fair to punish the current students”. Because of the mistakes of a group of teenagers in 2016, all Walpole High students have had to pay their consequences for the 5 years, and forever that follow.