After the unfortunate cancellation of the ‘Grinchmas Gala’ last year, Student Council made the decision to rebrand the Winter Dance to a more casual and cozy event called ‘The Jingle Jam in Jammies’ in hopes of boosting sales. Student Council member Rachel Zhao ‘28 states, “From last year we [Student Council] noticed that the student body didn’t really want to participate so we decided to reroute to something more comfortable and would appeal to more people.” In addition to appealing to more students, the simplicity and casualness of the Winter Dance’s rebrand meant the cost to put it together would be less expensive. Last year, because the dance was planned at a hotel instead of on SHC’s campus, the cost of the Winter Dance was rather expensive. Since this year it was supposed to take place at school, the Student Council was able to spend their budget on other items such as decorations and activities.
The money Student Council was able to save this year also solved the problem most students had with last year’s dance: ticket pricing. Vivi O’Neil ‘28 shares, “I bought a ticket last year. I think the price was a bit high. Maybe they [Student Council] could cut the price down, [by] like five or ten dollars.”
Last year’s Winter Dance was cancelled due to low ticket sales and in response, Student Council chose a more flexible and casual direction for this year in hopes of getting enough sales. Despite this rebrand, the dance this year suffered the same fate as last year. The Winter Dance’s ticket sale issue isn’t solely based on the theme choice and ticket prices, but also relies upon other factors.
Ms. Villa, Director of Student Activities, speculates, “Last year and this year we had an entire week off for Thanksgiving… Because everyone had the entire week off, it was difficult to get the momentum going for the Winter Dance since everyone was still in break mode.” In previous years, Student Council would have more time to promote the Winter Dance, achieving higher ticket sales. It is possible that additional planning could help Student Council make future Winter Dances a success. Our interviews imply that selling tickets weeks in advance to Thanksgiving would give Student Council enough time to promote the dance, and encourage more student engagement since they are not “in break mode.”
Despite the Winter Dance not being quite successful the last two years, it is important to note all of the effort Student Council pours into this event that brings the community together to celebrate the season and give students something to look forward to during the holidays. Making future winter dances a success would require time to promote, and perhaps StuCo could consider sending out a survey asking the student body what improvements they would like to see next year. Even with the unfortunate result of this year, there’s no doubt that Student Council will be working hard next year to put together this festive event!
