The Crookston Student Council submitted a letter earlier today to the Crookston High School Administration. The letter addresses the potential cancellation of the homecoming dance this fall. Below is the full letter that was submitted.
Crookston High School Administration,
This is a letter coming from the seniors on the Student Council. We are speaking on behalf of the majority of the 9-12th graders that attend Crookston High School. After reading KROX’s article titled “Crookston School District Planning For No Homecoming Dance On September 24”, there were many people upset- for various reasons that will be described below.
The most upsetting part of having this dance canceled (especially for the Class of 2022), is the fact that we haven’t been able to have a dance since Snowfest of our sophomore year. This is the start to our senior year, homecoming is one of the most memorable parts of high school. Yes, we are able to have Powder Puff, Pepfest and all the other “normal activities”, yet that leads us to our next point.
If we are able to have Powder Puff (9-12 playing a contact sport against each other, maskless), Pep Fest (all students 7-12 packed into the gymnasium at the same time all sitting very close to peers, maskless), students sections at sporting events (30-40 students sitting in a very close proximity, maskless for up to 2 hours), high contact sports (soccer and football) with teams from all around the area, why are we not able to dance with our friends?
The people that we dance next to at homecoming are the same people that we are playing sports with, they are the same people we hang out with outside of school, and they are the same people that are in our classes throughout the day. Every class period we switch classes, which means we also are switching the people who are around us every hour. So in reality, if there is going to be a “super spreader” it is already going to be taking place within our classrooms.
After contacting many of the surrounding schools, every single one of them (as of right now) said that they were planning on hosting a homecoming dance. Those being: Thief River Falls, East Grand Forks, Red Lake Falls, Warren Alverado Oslo, Fertile Beltrami, and Fisher. If all of these schools that are in our area are able to host a dance, why can’t we?
All over the country there are sporting events, concerts, rallies, etc.. Even here in Crookston, we just had Ox Cart Days, where people of our town were encouraged to gather. The adults of Crookston got to have a street dance, with people from everywhere, all super close together outdoors. We know that the use of a tent has been suggested, so we can host it on school grounds. KROX even said that they could do some extra fundraising for us.
Cancelling this dance will likely lead to outside sources to host the dance. Not having it on school grounds will promote an unsafe environment. If you host this dance, you can minimize the “bad choices” kids may make outside of school supervision. If outside sources host this dance, they do not have to require masks or breathalyzers, which are both key to a safe environment. If you don’t want your students to be involved in a “super spreader event” you need to host a safer option.
We believe that as the student council we should have a right to share our thoughts and opinions, and this is our way of exercising our rights. This was delivered both as a paper copy and an email on Friday, September 10th. We have also shared this letter with local media.
Respectfully submitted,
Seniors of Student Council
Olivia Huck, Claire Oman, Clara Meyer, Amelia Overgaard, Hannah Loraas, and Aleah Bienek
