This year, Feb. 4 re-featured a luxury we did not have last year: winter formal. Titled “head in the clouds”, the theme ranged anywhere from navy to white clothing in its blue atmosphere. Whether you chose high heels or AF1’s, it’s safe to say this year’s winter formal was a blast. Held in a Holiday Inn, multiple mosh pits were enjoyed and even a tribute to Gangam Style shook the hotel’s floors (sorry Holiday Inn Guests). 

This year’s winter formal took approximately four and a half hours to prepare. Presented by the sophomore class leaders, the theme “head in the clouds” was the result of inspiration from many Pinterest boards and the movie “Cloud Nine.” Sophomore class officer Sarah Al Qirem explained, “I had watched the Disney movie “Cloud Nine” the night before, and we kept seeing really cool blue lighting on Pinterestso the idea was born there.” 

A new system of entry was also tested where students either brought their student IDs or opened up StudentVue to their personal student barcode. If they paid beforehand, a simple scan would allow them into the dance without a significant wait time, eliminating the long lines we experienced at LO’s Homecoming. Sophomore class officer Ria Gupta elaborates on the efficiency, stating, “The ticket system was definitely more efficient, especially when selling tickets too and I know everyone was very happy to get in on time.”

Many fun memories were made, and lots of positive feedback was received from the dance. Sophomore Brandon Miller said, “I really liked the theme and the setup. The clouds, the lights, and the smoke were all nice touches.” 

Sophomore Bennett Graham also expressed his thoughts about the dance’s setup, stating, “I liked the setup, especially the lasers and the fog… My favorite part of the dance was the water.” Ice cold water was available to everyone at the dance, which was extremely helpful for those who get easily light headed or need something cold on the heated dance floor. 

Freshman Hudson Cochran, who also enjoyed his first winter formal, stated, “I really liked the theme, it made the experience better. My favorite part about the dance was dancing with my friends.” 

Freshman Ahmed Toney agrees with that statement, saying his favorite part of the dance was “the mosh pit and going crazy.”

 Senior Dylan Gustaff expressed her feelings on her last winter formal, stating, “I really liked the theme, it was unique but had classy decorations. I thought that the color scheme was nice. I was really happy with the overall lighting because it wasn’t too bright since that sometimes harms dances. My favorite part was probably just the fact that we had the dance since I haven’t had a winter formal since freshman year.” 

However, there’s always room for a little constructive criticism. Many have had two main complaints about the dance: the music choices and the location, the most pressing topic being the music. Sophomore Dylan Thomas loved the dance, but also added, “I feel like the DJ was better at homecoming. At winter formal there weren’t as many good songs, let alone good for dancing to.” 

The topic of location is very divided; some say that they loved that it wasn’t in the school library, and some say that they would have rather not had to drive far to get to the Holiday Inn and preferred the school.