A student stands in the dark cafeteria filled with no more than 10 other students, Pitbull is blasting through a speaker across the room, but no one is moving. Across the hall in the gym, students are energetic and passionate as the dodgeball tournament rages on. 

MCHS held their first ever Dance and Dodgeball Tournament on Jan. 19. The gathering was a poorly advertised and unsuccessful attempt at a winter event, and ultimately made students more annoyed than excited. 

Dance and Dodgeball is an event that Parkland Middle School has been hosting for years. It’s a casual after school event that occurs several times throughout the year. Though the event is fun for middle schoolers, it’s hardly fit to entertain a large group of high school students. 

Using an uncool middle school event for high school students doesn’t translate well. High school students already have big events like Homecoming, Prom, and Battle of the Bands to set the bar. If dance and dodgeball wanted to stand a chance, it should have been a higher stakes, higher scaled event with potential prizes for the winning dodgeball team as well as a possible theme for the dance to draw more people in. 

In addition to the overall lackluster vibe of the event, dance and dodgeball was an event that was simply unbalanced. The dance in the cafeteria was almost completely empty and offered zero decorations or lights, while the dodgeball tournament in the gym had several energetic teams in addition to a busy set of bleachers to cheer them on. 

One upside to the event was the price. Admission was free to MCHS students, which will always drum up more support for an event. Although free admission is nice and can help boost student participation, adding a price for admission could open a door to a bigger budget for the event, thus giving it a bigger impact on high school students. 

In the end, dance and dodgeball should have just been a high stakes dodgeball tournament. If it was better advertised, better organized, and prizes were involved, it would have been a significantly more successful event. Additionally, the dance in the cafeteria seemed like a waste of potential, which could have been used to amp up the dodgeball tournament instead.  

This is not to put down the work of Student Council, who worked incredibly hard to compromise on a winter event everyone would love, but the quickly planned event could have been pushed back to the spring in order to allow more planning time.