Over 450 students, dressed in all-white, made their way to the cafeteria with high hopes for the annual homecoming dance last weekend, making it one of the most attended dances hosted by Glen Rock High School. Students were ready to spend the next two and a half hours with their friends and classmates, dancing the night away.

This year’s homecoming dance (referred to as Glowcoming) was, as with previous homecoming dances, met with great anticipation by the student body. After the student council class of 2012 revamped the old dance, each year’s class since has tried to outdo the previous class.

Mr. Arlotta commented on the planning process, as well. He said, “We received some complaints about student dress last year, which I also observed, so we worked with Student Council to make a specific dress code to address these concerns.”

The Student Council took these suggestions to heart.

“We met in August where we first brainstormed a bunch of ideas. Our goal was to combine what the administration wanted with what students wanted,” said senior student and Student Council Treasurer Melissa Rosen.  “We decided that students probably wanted to keep the black lights and similar theme so we thought of names that went with a whiteout theme.”

Although a few are facing disciplinary action due to their actions at the dance on October 12th, when one examines the numbers, it is clear that the dance was a success. A large majority of the students who attended the dance left with fond memories.

With more than half of the student body attending the dance to begin with, the weekend was clearly a good experience for the school.

Police officers, who normally attend the dance to ensure the welfare of the students, were called into action when they received information regarding alcohol consumption.

The Chief of the Glen Rock Police, Frederick Stahman, reported, “We as a police department at a school are required to, if a juvenile is under influence, or we think they are under the influence, there is a requirement for the state… that we have that student evaluated.”

He explained to us that this protocol comes from a case that took place in Passaic County.

According to the Glen Rock athletic handbook, students sign an agreement that states: “students who use or possess alcohol drugs or tobacco… will be suspended from competition and/or practice for a period of time from two weeks to the end of the season.” This is considered a Level 2 offense.

Mr. Violante, the GRHS athletic director, explained to us that our school does not have a ‘party rule,’ which would have students begin their suspension once their sport season began.

“We had students who play sports in other seasons, but there was no suspension for them,” explained the GRHS athletic director, Mr. Violante.

“When the faculty gives up a Saturday night, you want to see everyone have a good time,” added Mr. Violante

Yet many still lauded the work done by the Student Council and the administration in planning such a successful dance.  Junior student Caroline Moscatello reflected upon her experience at the dance and said, “Even though it was chaotic, I ended up having a great time.”

“It’s always hard when you have 450 kids in one room at a dance,” said Melissa Rosen. “I think that the night of we were really stressed about the events that took place. But once we looked back we realize that while the senior class was a bit disappointed, the majority of the students had fun.”