On September 21, students looked forward to attending the “Night in Mount Olympus” themed homecoming as it prepared them for what the tone of the year would look like. 

With the last minute theme change from “A Night in Tokyo” to “Night in Mount Olympus,” there were concerns as to how many students would end up attending. 

“Personally, I think this homecoming was unpopular because of the last minute theme change and also the fact that the DJ was having a unique taste in music,” Homecoming Queen and USB member Ryan Shabinaw (12) said. “Especially the change in theme, USB was informed very last minute, which was not in our ideal plan.”

But in addition to the theme change, many students have been discouraged from attending because of homecoming’s decreasing popularity overall. With many not having positive experiences at previous homecomings, whether that be from the DJ to the decorations, trends in attendance have lessened the higher the grade level. 

“I definitely think that last year the company did not have great decorations, so I think that that kind of lessens peoples’ will to go,” Homecoming Commissioner Malaia Reger (12) said. “A lot of freshmen do go, sophomores kind of do the same thing, but there are hardly any seniors there which I understand, and especially after last year’s decorations, I understand that there would be a growing population who does not want to go to homecoming.”

Despite the popularity perceived by sales and word of mouth though, students who did attend did have positive feedback to its outcome. 

“Personally, I liked [homecoming] because I was able to hang out with my friends, and I feel like the venue and the little food they had was very helpful,” Kate Avila (12) said. “Like the ice cream, I feel like after mosh-pitting or dancing, the ice cream was a really nice touch.”

With most homecoming festivities, students were also looking forward to the result of the homecoming court nominations. Here were the nominees and winners of each grade level:

Freshmen Class Court Nominees:

Ben Schwarz

Jacob Okeke

Alvin Foo

Abigail Fregoso-Ortega

Ava Trujillo

Emma Min

Winners: Ben Schwarz and Ava Trujilo 

Sophomore Class Court Nominees: 

Camilo Carmona

Max Sumner

Mason Eligio

Alyson Gutierrez

Isabella Gabriel

Samantha Huerta

Winners: Camilo Carmona and Isabella Gabriel

Junior Class Court Nominees:

Jacob Rocha

Kane Wukelich

Audrina Cerda

Valerie Villarreal

Brooklyn Iasparro 

Winners: Kane Wukelich and Valerie Villarreal

Senior Class Court Nominees: 

Ryan Shabinaw

Aidan Moet

Marshall Huang

Madison Garcia

Kennedy Jauregui

Jacob Stewart

Winners: Ryan Shabinaw and Aidan Moet

Although Ayala is not competitive in homecoming court campaigning and nominations, the individuals who were nominated were excited to be able to stand alongside their fellow nominees, adding to their overall experience with the event.

“I didn’t care if I got it. I’m very happy that I did, but all in all, I kind of just accepted the fact that I was very happy to be nominated up there, especially with two amazing girls that I knew very well,” Shabinaw said. “We all know a lot of people and we’re involved in different things, so I think that just really shows that your character really gets you out there. Everyone deserved it and I think we all knew that whoever won, we were still happy to be up there.”

While there were mixed opinions on how this year’s homecoming would turn out, the general consensus is that the event was successful in comparison to previous years. With the first major event out of the way, we can only look forward to how future dances will turn out in the upcoming year.