February 27, 2023 by Emma Gowen (’25)
This January, Student Council announced that Saratoga Springs High School would be holding another dance: The Snowball! The event was held on Saturday the 11th from 7 to 10 in the White Gym. The hope of this dance being just as popular as Homecoming was evident, with ticket sales also having a maximum limit. However, these aspirations were sadly left unmet. Only 450 out of these 975 tickets were purchased leading to many to question: was the Snowball worth it?
When considered alongside Homecoming, the Snowball just pales by comparison. I personally attended the Snowball with a few of my friends because we had enjoyed Homecoming so much. But the differences between the two dances were apparent as soon as we arrived. As many students may remember, the large crowd waiting outside the school for the Homecoming dance was visible as soon as you drove into the parking lot. Just walking in, I could see everyone huddled together to stay warm in the freezing late October air. It was a relief to finally be inside where there was heat. This was not even a factor in my mind when I pulled up to the Snowball–we were able to walk right into the school without even a line. While this was nice for the attendees, it demonstrates that the Snowball did not have nearly as much student interest as Hoco.
This lack of student interest was even more clear when I entered the white gym. It was very underwhelming and the number of students there was frankly just disappointing. The ambiance of the gym was much different than it was during Homecoming. The energy was much lower, even with the same strobe lights flashing and music blasting my ear drums. I will say that as the night went on, the dance still ended up being a good time and I don’t regret going at all. I was still able to enjoy the dance with friends and had classic high school fun while getting ready, doing my nails, and putting my dress on. The Snowball was a nice chunk of time set aside a month in advance to see people who I might not normally spend time with–a sentiment that motivated many students to attend. Even though I don’t have any regrets about going to the Snowball, I would regret planning it if I was on Student Council (STUCO).
Mr. Johnson confirmed that the financial aspects between both Homecoming and the Snowball differed greatly, alongside the difference in student interest. Around 1500 dollars were spent on the Homecoming dance for both the decorations and the DJ, while 2500 dollars were spent for the Snowball. The DJ made up 500 of that spending with the other 2000 dollars put into buying a 360 Photobooth. I would not have any complaints if the Homecoming dance cost more because there is a much higher chance of it still making a profit due to its high popularity. However, this was not the case–with the less profitable Snowball costing substantially more.
A great deal of profit was gained from the Homecoming dance. Ticket sales made around 5500 dollars which created a profit of about 4000 dollars once the cost of a DJ and decorations (1500 dollars) is factored in. This great profit was not experienced with the Snowball ticket sales that only made 2250 dollars. Plus, with the cost of the 360 Photobooth and DJ (2500 dollars), the dance actually lost STUCO money. This is mainly due to the lack of ticket sales. If tickets for the Snowball had been as sought after as they were for Homecoming, a profit of just about 2400 dollars would have occurred.
I feel that this was a poor job on Student Council’s part because the money that was lost could have been a sound investment if they had just put on an event that the majority of the student body was actually interested in. They could have done this in several ways, but I believe that the overarching theme is that the student population needs to be given a greater say in the events that Student Council creates.With student interests taken into account, the events would be more effective financially and actually attended and enjoyed by students.
Overall, the Snowball was a fun time for some students including myself. However, a different event –such as having a bunch of different food trucks and vendors come to the school, doing a Color Run, or even a school-wide teachers vs. students competition–could have brought more unity to the student population and provided financial profits rather than financial losses. Therefore, the Snowball was not worth it, and STUCO should learn from their lost money to not host a winter dance after already having a Homecoming. They should instead poll the students– the ones who are interested in attending school events–to see what we actually wish to have hosted at our school before spending so much money.