Having been open for 100‭ ‬years‭, ‬MCHS has changed a lot but one thing that’s stayed relatively the same is Homecoming‭. ‬An event created to celebrate alumni is now an event to celebrate how expensive a dress is or whether or not the football team will win‭. ‬

The first‭ ‬“Homecoming”‭ ‬was in 1910‭ ‬at the University of Missouri‭. ‬It spread to other colleges and universities and became a very popular event for schools to hold‭. ‬It eventually made its way down to high schools by the 1920’s where it became even more popular‭. ‬The event was created to celebrate and welcome home graduated alumni‭, ‬allowing those to show their school spirit‭. ‬MCHS celebrates Homecoming every October‭. ‬Being a week long‭, ‬homecoming is associated with multiple activities including paint the town‭, ‬a parade and a spirit rally‭. ‬With the week wrapping up with the final football game of the season and the infamous Homecoming dance‭. ‬

For an event made to embrace and celebrate former students‭, ‬not much is said about them‭. ‬It’s not like they don’t show up‭; ‬many do but they’re never mentioned or included in the celebrations‭. ‬Yes‭, ‬there are some events they can’t partake in‭, ‬but there are plenty they can‭. ‬Shout-outs at the games or in the parade would be a nice way to make them feel seen‭ ‬and included in an event created to celebrate them‭. ‬Remembering the purpose of Homecoming is the first step to making these changes‭. ‬The school is trying to change this though‭. ‬This year‭, ‬distinguished warrior graduates from last school year will be speaking during the parade‭. ‬Showing that including the alumni is possible and should be explored more in the future‭. ‬

It’s not just the alumni who need more representation during homecoming‭. ‬There are other activities and sports who don’t get the support they deserve too‭. ‬There is more to homecoming than just the football game and the dance‭; ‬it is a week-long event‭. ‬Driving through town‭, ‬it’s hard to miss the colorful drawings on local shop windows‭. ‬This event‭, ‬paint the town‭, ‬is one that many of the clubs take part‭ ‬in‭. ‬It involves going to local shops and painting their windows to show school spirit‭. ‬Other events include the parade and the powder puff game‭. ‬Both of these are normally hyped up and widely advertised but don’t normally bring in huge crowds‭. ‬This especially applies to the powder puff game‭, ‬which is a flag football game played between junior and senior girls‭. ‬This event is talked about a lot‭, ‬whether it be over emails and announcements or just by word of mouth‭, ‬but no one ever seems to show up‭. ‬And this goes for all of the events‭, ‬except for‭, ‬well‭, ‬the football game and dance‭.‬

The Homecoming dance‭, ‬the night people spend hundreds of dollars and weeks preparing for‭, ‬just for some pictures and to hang out‭ ‬in the gym‭. ‬It’s one thing for the football game to be over hyped since it’s part of the stereotypical‭ ‬“American high school”‭ ‬tradition‭, ‬and yes‭, ‬the dance falls under that tradition too‭, ‬but come on‭, ‬neither are that important‭. ‬Both are just ways to show who has money and who’s popular‭. ‬Many don’t even go to either of those and choose to skip and hang out somewhere else‭. ‬So why are these the events everyone goes crazy about other than the fact that they’re stereotypical‭? ‬There’s nothing all too special about these‭, ‬no one cares about the actual football game‭. ‬They’re just there to be there‭, ‬and the dance is more of a stand around while listening to semi clean music‭. ‬Yet these are the events‭ ‬people pour time and money into‭. ‬

It’s fun to indulge for a couple of nights and the football game and dance are so popular because they are stereotypical and can feel like stepping into the movies‭. ‬These reasons are fine and it is fun to relate to movies and TV but those pieces of media aren’t realistic and we shouldn’t try to recreate them‭. ‬

Homecoming is an exciting and stressful time‭. ‬The celebration has strayed very far from its original purpose‭; ‬but it is still a‭ ‬fun experience‭. ‬More focus should be on the smaller activities though since they add just as much school spirit as the bigger ones‭. ‬School spirit is the main point of holding a homecoming and that’s been lost over time with the focus being moved to big flashy football games and dances‭. ‬The school would benefit overall if we‭ ‬returned back to a school spirit focus allowing for more of the current and former student body to be seen and heard‭. ‬