By Hien Bui
Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) hosted winter formal on Jan. 29 at the Dana Point Ocean Institute. Preceded by an Omicron surge and a record 448 school absences on Jan. 8, the dance was FVHS’ first offsite dance in nearly two years. Whether the dance could become a COVID-19 hotspot and the effectiveness of the venue’s safety protocols were factors students weighed before deciding their attendance.
While masking is recommended for outdoor activities, per California Department of Public Health guidelines, it would’ve been a difficult task for the limited staff to regulate all winter formal attendees so no mandate was issued, according to Assistant Principal of Activities and Athletics Hayato Yuuki.
The majority of dance-goers were masked and, while the mask dispensers were limited to the entrance, they were available to those who wanted them.
Through the efforts of the Associated Student Body and Yuuki, all dances this year have been held (or postponed) with student safety in mind. The dance committees have taken the necessary precaution to ensure that students can enjoy themselves in an environment that won’t pose a threat to their well-being–the winter formal venue was well-selected, with an open floor plan, ventilation in the few indoor spaces and many different areas for students to explore. There were no reported cases of COVID-19 linked directly to dance attendance.
This bodes well for Prom in the spring given that COVID conditions either remain manageable or improve. However, despite this tentative success, we still need to continue masking.
Wearing a mask comes down to individual action towards greater social responsibility.
FVHS has faced a somewhat rocky return to school dances.
The cancellation of the Aloha Dance due to a threat had started off the year with a sense of unease. As hundreds of students were turned away at the gate and decorations were ripped down, disappointment loomed large over what was supposed to be a fresh start.
We’ve become well acquainted with uncertainty. There’s no longer assurance that, if you skip a dance, there will always be another one or next year to make up for it. Many are going to events for the first time during their final year of high school. Others are trying to connect to a school they’ve only experienced online.
We all want the same things: a good year and a sense of normalcy wherever we can find it. School dances celebrate milestones in our year with our community, something that unsanctioned dances can’t do on the same scale.
Dance attendance should be straightforward. Anyone who wants to go shouldn’t have to stay home out of fear of endangering their household just as those who choose to go shouldn’t have to trade off on their possible safety to attend.
We should do what we can so that school dances remain an option. Mask up.
Rebecca Do and Katie Vo contributed to this article.
