No Semi-Formal.... For Now

The rumors circling around the school about the semi-formal are true; as of right now there will be no semi-formal this year. According to Jamesville DeWitt High School Principal Paul Gasparini, the main reason why there will not be a semi-formal is because it was scheduled for Feb 10 and the dates of the musical are Feb 9, 10, and 11. The other issue was the inappropriate dancing known as “grinding.”

However ,“nothing is in concrete yet,” said Mr. Gasparini. “We will have to have a serious conversation about music and dancing style. It’s frustrating because of inappropriate dancing, tension, and students don’t see the harm in it,” said Mr. Gasparini.

The date of the musical cannot be changed due to the February break says Mr. Gasparini. “The musical would lose momentum if it were after break, so we have to have it before. We will still have the senior ball and prom. Kids will still be able to dance,” said Mr. Gasparini

In the past the Hole in the Wall Club has sponsored it, but they are not this year because they thought it was “unethical” to sponsor something where kids were behaving inappropriately. No other club has stepped up to fill the sponsorship role yet. Nor are the other teachers in the school willing to chaperone. Teachers feel that the “grinding” has “gotten out of hand” said J-DHS Guidance counselor Diane Ennis. The teachers can no long chaperone dances with that type of dancing she said.

Another problem is that,“In past years students have been disrespectful to the DJ because of song choice,” said Mrs. Ennis.

How do students feel about this? “I feel like they robbed me of my senior year,” said senior Maddie Seeley. The majority of the students agree with Seeley in the fact that having no semi-formal is a disappointment. “They are taking away our opportunity to have a good time,” said sophomore Luca Pelligra. “It is terrible. No one goes to the musical! Everyone loves the semi-formal,” said junior Anthony Epifani. Others that are disappointed are senior Alec Thompson who said, “I am sad and bummed out,” and sophomore Jason Alweis who said, “with no semi-formal our social interactions with others are limited in our school.” Junior Chris Pino thinks its “really dumb, because they are so uptight about the dancing. We are grown-ups, we can handle it. They should move it.”

Other students, however, feel that the musical is more important than the semi-formal. “I don’t feel bad because I'm excited about the musical,” said senior Hali Greenhouse. Senior Ioan Gitsov sums it up by saying, “either way something good will would come out out of the night.”

Some rumors that have surfaced are that student council will fill the sponsorship role. J-DHS teacher and student council advisor Meghan McGee said that it is not true and they are not picking up the sponsorship role.