Students have been demanding dances and formals for several years at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, but once the events are held, attendance does not meet expectations.
In October 2023, the high school held a Homecoming Dance open to all students, and in February of this year, the student council organized a Winter Formal for upperclassmen. Both events were requested by the student body and the dances’ themes and music were based on public opinion. However, ticket sales were low and reviews were not all positive.
A recent survey was sent to students by some teachers in the English Department to determine why attendance is so scarce, revealing information about the changes and continuity the organizers of these events should consider. The survey reflected that 33.3 percent of students outright said that they never attend dances, while 20.8 percent did attend often and 45.8 percent attended sometimes.
Availability is a major factor in the amount of students who attend school dances. Events are usually held on Fridays and Saturdays. According to the survey, 66.7 percent of the student body are free on these dates, 20.8 percent responded that it depends and 12.5 percent are never available.
Those who selected “never available” cited factors outside of school that prevented them from attending. 79.2 percent of students are burdened by their academic workload, 70.8 percent choose to make other plans with friends, 41.7 percent have household responsibilities, 37.5 percent have athletic commitments and 25% have work.
A challenge to this problem arises in how Friday and Saturday are the only appropriate days to host events. Those who are busy with other responsibilities will cause low attendance.
Expense is another key variable in play. Tickets generally sell for $20-25 about a week before the event takes place. When asked if they found ticket prices too expensive, 50 percent of students said yes while the other 50 percent said no. An opportunity for student input was included in the survey, with the second most popular suggestion being lowered ticket prices.
About 58.3 percent of students find that dances are not well advertised before the date. Without proper advertising, knowledge of the dance cannot reach the student body and ticket sales will naturally be low.
Many students believe that uninteresting themes and limited advertisement account for the low excitement for events. Student participation in advertisements, features in BRTV announcements and reminders to generate anticipation are popular suggestions to combat this issue. An incentive needs to be provided to get students to attend.
In extension, students are uninterested due to themes and the venue. One student anonymously wrote addressed the issue.
“A lot of dances are sort of just… basic. Like they are in the gym, and the themes (if there are any) are vague suggestions,” they said.
Another anonymous student valued creativity.
“If there was more creativity put into them since most of them are kinda just ‘dance’. If there is a theme, they don’t do much to actually stick to it,” they said.
The most popular requested reform was in regard to themes that lack novelty or uniqueness. There are numerous comments that the dances are too “school-like” and need an aspect of formality and elegance. Events such as prom are highly anticipated because they present an opportunity to dress up. Thirty-three percent of students are in opposition to the themes and dress codes offered while only 66.7 percent find them tolerable.
There are numerous reasons why students fail to attend dances and formals despite their demand. Organizers can take this feedback and make iterations to future events in order to achieve more student engagement and attendance.
