Emilya Garza

Posing for a picture at last year’s homecoming, sophomore Emilya Garza sits with her friends on a couch set up for photo-taking. At the 2022 dance, there were arcade machines and students were able to purchase disposable cameras. “Honestly my favorite memory was taking pictures with the couch,” Garza said. “They set up a couch at homecoming and [the backdrop behind] it said ‘2022 Homecoming.’ Everybody was taking pictures there and you could get 20 people on that couch it felt like. That was my favorite part because you could take pictures and laugh and you’ll have them forever.” Photo courtesy of Emilya Garza

A week of interesting costumes followed by alumni coming home to the football game and ending the week with a dance the next evening—homecoming has arrived. Cue distinctive, themed outfits, homecoming proposals, voting for the homecoming court and clear excitement for the big Friday game.

As we are in the midst of spirit week and the game and dance are fast approaching, homecoming traditions continue to have a major role in the typical American high school experience. The homecoming dance theme this year is Fall Ball and is being set up by the Celebrities dance team on Oct 7. Spirit week themes are decided by the Student Council.

“I think that [the spirit week themes] are really good because everybody in student council got to put in input,” sophomore vice president Emilya Garza said. “I think that they’re very on-trend, which is good because if they weren’t, then people wouldn’t actually participate. There’s half [the student body] that think it’s a lot of work to dress up for them and the other half think they can dress up. So anyone gets to participate if they want to.”

Many students go all out for spirit week. It is a chance to show excitement and pride for the school, and there are many stories about unique takes on the themes. The themes range from traditional school colors to popular movies (i.e. “Barbie and Ken day”) as well as the well liked “anything but a backpack” and “PJ” days.

“My friends love [spirit week themes], absolutely love them,” junior Kate Spinneweber said. “I also love them. My friends go all out; I like to dress up and definitely go with the theme but I’m not as out there as they are. Some people go crazy [with the theme] and it makes me so happy to see it. For “anything but a backpack” [last year] I had a friend bring a mini car that they drove around. Then one [student] brought a shopping cart, [and] I remember one person brought a pool, an inflatable pool. I did not go all out, I brought a little tote bag but I enjoyed watching everyone else do it.”

Homecoming also offers a wide variety of other traditions, such visits from alumni and the homecoming game. Moreover, homecoming dance proposals and courts are also popular traditions that are meant to increase the overall pep of the school and build a lot of excitement about participating in a school event.

“The mum is a lot of fun,” Spinneweber said. “It’s fun to see everyone else’s mums too. Some are big, some are small, there’s some I’ve seen with animals on them. Some are as tall as the person [wearing the mum] and I just think they’re so much fun, sometimes they can be a bit janky but I love them. It’s just fun to see everyone wearing them.”

Many high schools all over the U.S. partake in homecoming celebrations and spirit weeks, but mums are particularly a Southern tradition; the mum is originally a Texas practice. Typically, mums are typically made by the boy and the girl makes the garter for the boy. It’s not necessary for it to be done like this as many people get together with their friends and craft them to their liking.

“My senior year I went with my friend, my neighbor,” English teacher Jessica Logsdon said. “His mom made my mum and I made his garter and I remember picking out the little teddy bears because he played baseball, so I did a teddy bear ball and a bat and I did mine with a volleyball and a basketball. The piece de resistance was whenever he brought me my mum and it had Christmas lights in it and I felt like a princess. It was amazing. We just had such a good friend group that any homecoming dance and homecoming week was just a chance to get together with your friends and do something special.”

There’s been a recent trend in upperclassmen, or students in general, not going to the homecoming dance and an overall dip in the energy surrounding the excitement of homecoming. Logsdon said this seems to be because of COVID-19 and the younger generation not being aware of how things used to be during homecoming season.

“We didn’t have that social media life that you guys do,” Logsdon said. “I feel like with the way the world has gone, if you do the picture in the dress and you post it, then that’s good enough. I just feel like you miss out on little types of moments with people that aren’t in your normal circle if you don’t partake in the events. You know how adamant I am about you guys doing those things, because those little moments just stay with you.”

There are some students who simply don’t like the experience that homecoming has to offer. Spinneweber said that both a better budget and an easier method of getting tickets could make people more interested in participating in the dance.

“The most fun part is the before and after, but then when you’re there no one’s actually dancing and when they are it’s to that one song and then after everyone’s just standing there awkwardly,” Garza said. “Everyone’s thirsty, everyone’s feet hurt and there’s nothing to do. All you do is go to the cafeteria where music is, so I think it’s not that hype because nobody wants to do it.”

Along with COVID, a new generation of high schoolers and the increasingly influential  social media are causing school events to continue to change. This has prompted a reimagination of how events are seen and experienced by students.

“As people [become upperclassmen], they may see the underclassmen as immature so I would assume that when they see all these underclassmen get super excited [for homecoming] they’re like ‘Ugh, they’re overreacting,’” Spinneweber said. “I’m not one hundred percent sure why [homecoming] might be declining, it may just be because people are losing interest. I know there are still quite a few upperclassmen who still go to the dance but I definitely remember there being a lot more excitement around it when I was in my freshman and sophomore years. It’s been something me and my friends always love to do together.”

Homecoming means a variety of things to people. To many, it’s an opportunity for alumni to quite literally “come home,” for others it’s a high school experience.

“Honestly I feel like [this is] what high school is about,” Logsdon said. “There’s never a year that goes by that I don’t tell my freshmen that there’s never going to be a time in your life [when] you’re going to be surrounded by this many people that are your same age who are remotely interested in you and friendly with you. You don’t get to relive it. In the grand scheme of life it’s crazy to me that you’re only in school for 12 years. That time just flies by so quickly. I understand if having school spirit or not being enthusiastic about sports is not your thing, but I also feel like, why not? Why not just try it? If you don’t like those kids in the student section, then don’t sit with them. But go to the game, feel the energy. Feel the excitement.” 

According to Spinneweber, homecoming is a chance to go all out. As a community, families and students have a lot of involvement in Cedar Park related events.

“So many of our shirts say ‘Cedar Park’ on them on the front and I feel like that speaks volumes about our community,” Logsdon said. “As a mom now, we’ve got Cedar Park Youth Football League, Cedar Park T-Ball and it’s all Cedar Park. Nothing is as special as Cedar Park. I just feel like Cedar Park is special and homecoming is just a time to feel like a community because you can always come home.”