Only 30 minutes before its grand opening, Fountain Valley High School’s (FVHS) highly anticipated Aloha Dance was cancelled due to a threat. Both FVHS’ Associated Student Body (ASB) and the students were disappointed in how the event unfolded, especially since this was their first in-person dance scheduled since the pandemic.
Photos by Anneliese Duong.
“As a personal planner of the Aloha Dance itself, I was extremely upset and disappointed when I found out that it was cancelled. I know that I, and the rest of ASB, had been working tirelessly for the success of that dance, and it was heart-wrenching to realize that our hard work had gone to waste. But I do believe the school handled the situation well…I think it was the safest option for not only the student body but also the administrators supervising the dance,” junior Ian Bui said.
“I think that the school handled it well. I do think, legally, we chose safe precautions and we put safety first before everything else. I was devastated after the cancellation. The people in my commission worked over the entire summer to plan the entire Aloha Dance, and we spent seven hours setting up. Thirty minutes before the Aloha Dance started, it was canceled. Teachers and police came in and told us it was canceled…I was just devastated and…crying. I’m very happy the Aloha Dance got rescheduled,” junior Sa Nguyen said.
“I was definitely in shock when I first heard about the cancellation of the dance. I immediately thought of all the behind-the-scene work and efforts that had gone into this dance, and [I] was sad to know that it wasn’t going to come to life. I thought the school handled it well, putting the safety of students first. The safety of everyone is always the number one priority, and that’s exactly what the school did. And, I think moving the dance to spring is definitely ideal! Although the dance won’t be taking place until a few months later, it’s still going to be a fun dance for all students to enjoy. Hopefully students are excited for the Spring Dance and know that ASB is just as excited,” junior Kayleen Duong said.
“I was sad because I had nothing to do that night. I guess they had to take precautions because if someone were to get hurt it would be bad. I think the school handled the situation pretty well because they sent out multiple emails warning students and parents. I’m excited for the dance to move to spring though, and I think that they did a good job of keeping the dance instead of canceling it altogether,” freshman Maiya Galloway said.
“I think that the school handled the cancellation horribly because it was so last minute—it sucks. We should have just went [sic] to the Aloha Dance. I think it was right for it to be canceled, but I prefer it not to be. I’m pretty happy that we are going to have the Aloha Dance in the spring,” freshman Devin Tran said.
“I feel like all the seniors missed out because it’s our first year back to school. Everyone has been waiting for it. Since it’s the first dance since coming back, [its cancellation] was very disappointing. I think that it’s good that they canceled it for everyone’s safety. Moving the dance to spring is a good thing, but it also makes us kind feel bummed because it got moved. But we are still having it,” senior Khue Doan said.
