Homecoming is officially coming back to Hellgate this year, though in a different way than it has been before, as it is now a fundraised, non-Hellgate affiliated event. Organized by a few students in Student Government, The Knights Guild was created to plan the dance that is now set to take place on Oct. 5 from 8-11pm on the Saturday after Spirit Week, in the Ballroom on the 3rd floor of the University Center. They hope that it will be a way for students to have something to be excited about at the start of this school year and build a stronger community at Hellgate.
Cecelia Spencer, with the help of advisor Velita Rholl, started The Knights Guild, which is a mix of parents and students who have been volunteering their time since before the start of the school year to organize this dance. Student Government officers have been involved in the process, even though it isn’t associated with Student Government. It is important to clarify that this organization is not affiliated with Hellgate High School, since the dance is completely independently organized. “We have to be really clear about that,” said Spencer.
The Knights Guild was able to get their funding through taking their ideas to The Knights of the Round Table (KORT), the parent organization who also organizes the coffee cart. They were able to pitch their ideas and get around $3,500 to put towards the dance. With that money, they have been using their own time outside of school to go through each step, such as printing tickets, booking the venue, advertising, ticket sales, and all other organizing factors, like preparing the food, music, and door prizes for the event.
In the past, as far as current Hellgate students will remember, we have never had a Homecoming dance, as it has continuously been canceled due to staffing issues and lack of effort from the administration. According to Spencer, school dances were forbidden on school property because “they had had some bad experiences in the past.” This led to a lot of problems during those dances and resulted in safety issues among those who attended the dances.
Due to this, a big part of the committee’s plan this year is to try to push anti-drinking. “Not in a way that’s, like, aggressive, but we’re trying to make it clear that, like, this is a privilege after so long of not having it.” They will be implementing rules, like a no re-entry policy for the dance in order to ensure a fun and safe experience for everyone that won’t be centered around alcohol. “I really hope that people can remember that when they’re like, making choices at the dance is, like, that this could all be taken away,” said Spencer.
As for preparing for the dance, there is no specific theme for this year’s homecoming, to give freedom to participants to wear whatever they are comfortable with, “and hopefully be a little more affordable because you don’t have to worry about matching a theme.” Since this is the first time planning Homecoming in a while, some things may be subject to change if the dance does continue in the future.
Since the dance is not affiliated with Hellgate High School, it is technically available for anyone to attend, though it is mainly aimed at Hellgate students. It is an 18 and under event, so if someone were to attend who isn’t from Hellgate, they would at least have to be another high school student.
With The Knights Guild, “We’ve tried to put a lot of thought into all those decisions and, like, really make it a tradition and an event that people can be proud of, especially in a year without Goat.” A lot of the event planning has been prioritizing making it fun, and hoping to make this a yearly tradition that people can enjoy and get excited for. “We really want this to be a tradition that we can bring back,” said Spencer.
