Orono High Schools’ Homecoming dance is one of the most popular school events, and over the years it has been held in multiple locations. However, the majority of the students have voiced that they prefer the dance inside, behind the bleachers. 

Students liked being behind the bleachers, not only for the warmth but also because it felt more intimate and less awkward. In the cafeteria, the space is bigger, allowing for people to stand off to the side away from the dance, but the people who were dancing felt that it was awkward to have others watching them. 

“I liked the bleachers because it was smaller and the cafeteria was so big, and it looked like there were no people there and lots of people standing around,” sophomore Mya Dahlstrom said. 

Midday Friday during Powderpuff, students were leaving their seats early to get indoors and away from the cold, and some did not show up at all. Because of this, the Student Senate and the Homecoming dance planners Ms. Nohner and Mr. Lunquist joined together to make the decision to move the dance indoors, because the weather was not expected to change the next day.

The Orono Student Body Instagram account put up a post informing the students that the dance would move indoors. Dr. Steiner sent a follow-up email to Orono students and guardians restating this. In this email, she also informed everyone that the parade that Friday would go on as planned, but the pep fest would be held inside. According to The Weather Channel, the average low was 25 degrees Fahrenheit on October 7th, the night of the dance. 

For the past couple of years, the dance has taken place outside on the plaza of the football stadium. The DJ table had been under a tent where students could dance if they wanted to, and if they did not there were yard games to play. The yard games included corn hole, spikeball, and others.

“The dances are really cold, especially for the girls because we are wearing dresses,” sophomore Alex Tufvander said.  Many of the other girls agreed with Tufvander, regarding dresses and the cold.

“We started holding it outside during COVID because we had to,” English teacher Ms. Nohner said. Normally the dance was not held outside, but rather in the cafeteria. 

After returning to school in September of 2021, the mask mandate was still ongoing, and the Student Senate had to make a decision on whether to have a masked indoor dance or an unmasked outdoor dance. They ended up deciding on an unmasked outdoor dance. 

In the following years, the Senate was given a choice on whether they should continue holding the dance outside, or move it indoors. Until now, they have continued to hold it outside, but are asked to reconsider after this year’s indoor dance by the overwhelming number of people who prefer it that way.