There have been many whispers amongst the students – especially the upperclassmen – regarding a back-to-school tradition that did not take place this year: the freshmen dance.
For those who do not know, every year at the back-to-school assembly the freshmen class perform a dance choreographed by the seniors in front of the entire school. To many, it is the highlight of the assembly and when it failed to happen this year many students were disappointed and confused by this sudden change – as no students had been consulted regarding the possibility of a change in tradition.
Megan Lauinger ’26 stated, “When I learned that Prep was no longer doing the freshmen dance, I was devastated because for the past several decades, the dance has been an essential experience every freshman has had to go through, and removing it made it seem like the abrupt end of an era”.
Which it was.
After the assembly there was much speculation amongst the students as to why the dance was removed, many students going so far as to say it was due the school administration considering it as “hazing” – which turned out to not be the case.
When discussing with Mr. Liu, the Assistant Principal for Community and Belonging, regarding why the administration decided to remove this long-lasting tradition he explained, “It was more of a practical decision more than anything”.
Expanding on this he discussed how the change from the previous Peer Mentor program to Link Crew was the biggest reason for the change. In previous years the students that led the Peer Mentor program for the incoming freshmen choreographed the dance and taught the freshmen during Panther Day in June – which used to last all day. But this year Prep embraced a new model called Link Crew, which was adopted from an organization where specific games and activities were pre-planned, and instead of a full day with the freshmen there was only half a day – completely removing the previously allotted time to teach the freshmen the dance.
A scheduling conflict is all it took to eliminate this tradition. But this isn’t what aggravates the students, it’s that it could have been easily resolved if only the students had been consulted in the decision making in the first place.
And to this Mr. Liu agreed, “The Office of Student Life, Admissions, and school administration were the ultimate decision makers, but I wish we had gotten more student voice, particularly from ASB” – but then this raises the question: why didn’t they?
Even freshmen, who did not know about the freshmen dance before student speculation arose, explained that they are bummed that it was eliminated from the back-to-school assembly schedule.
Ena Sparling ’29 mentioned, “I am disappointed that we are not doing the freshman dance, I heard a lot about it from some upperclassmen, and it sounded fun”.
Even though Sparling also stated that the dance might have been awkward to do, she also realizes that it would have been a fond memory to look back on.
The sudden removal of the freshmen dance does not just erase a fun event, it steals a vital moment of growth, awkwardness, and connection that every freshman deserves. By eliminating this tradition without warning, the school took away more than just a dance; it removed a key experience that binds and creates the first full-class memory for the freshmen.
The fact that the dance was removed for logistical reasons means it doesn’t have to be the end of the long-standing tradition and if students push for it to be reinstated, there is no reason this tradition can’t come back. And it absolutely should. Waiting around will not bring about change, but student voices and action just might.
