Homecoming a rite of passage

Year after year, Wasilla High School has homecoming, a week in which students all over the school dress up and participate in school activities. Homecoming is a long-standing tradition in high schools in the United States, but is homecoming really just another way to make money?

To me, homecoming is a tradition that provides some much-needed school spirit to students and teams alike. Homecoming is probably the only time during the school year when students are asked to show support for their school in a unique and creative way. Dressing up and participating in football, even just watching the game, is a fun and exciting activity Wasilla High students share with the whole community.

Then, after a week of supporting the school, students are rewarded with the homecoming dance. To me, the dance seems like a way to reward students for supporting the school; it’s easier to want to do something if there is a reward for you in the end.

The week of homecoming also seems like one of the biggest fundraisers. People come to watch the games, end up buying food or Warrior items to support the teams, and people have to buy tickets to the dance.

If homecoming was eliminated, major profits would disappear and the school wouldn’t have as much money. Homecoming seems to be a way to collect profits for the school, not just a school spirit event for students.

Students and teachers alike get excited for homecoming, planning what they’re going to wear or who they think will win the game. Even though homecoming acts as another avenue of revenue, homecoming is a traditional rite of passage and every student should experience school spirit to the extreme.

Lane Hodson is a sophomore at Wasilla High School.