“Gangnam Style” will come and go, but swing music is always the better option.
For the last few years, Dixie State College has started the Homecoming dance the right way with the first hour dedicated to alumni. The older generations crowded onto the dance floor and showed off their fancy moves. It was a time for alumni to spend with their sweethearts and relive the memories they had in college.
My date and I tried to pull off the rockin’ dance moves last year, but it was just not happening. While the older dancers laughed at us and congratulated us for trying, we ended up just stepping aside and watching the older alumni show us up on the dance floor. Yes, I was embarrassed.
It was obvious the alumni looked forward to this every year. All generations of DSC students interacted with each other. Some of the older graduates taught the younger ones how to swing dance. It was enlightening to witness the few things that brought the multiple generations together: Homecoming, music and our love for DSC.
Being able to share the dance floor with past students made it a memorable night, and it was honestly the most fun I have ever had at a dance.
Everybody swung the night away with the jazz music in the background, hand-in-hand with their sweethearts, right? Wrong.
The laughter and smiles that filled the first portion of Homecoming began dying down as the DJ started playing his music. The alumni quickly began to leave. I went from being surrounded by them to being surrounded by my fellow students in a matter of minutes.
It went from elaborate partner swing dancing to an intense booty-shaking contest. I looked at what was going on around me, and I completely understood why all the alumni quickly fled the building.
The music being played was a huge downgrade from the jazz band. The only words that I could understand had to do with sex, drugs and alcohol. They were songs that did not need to be played at a college dance.
The aftermath of these songs led to plenty of dirty dancing and people feeling uncomfortable. My date and I, along with our group, decided we should leave and celebrate our own homecoming somewhere else that was a little bit more appropriate.
What started as a classy dance that celebrated DSC and all of the memories turned into an out-of-control party.
Isn’t the whole point of Homecoming to celebrate and to bring in the new school year without forgetting the previous years?
It would be an upgrade if DSC could incorporate all generations of students who have attended Dixie into one dance without having others feeling uncomfortable. Everybody was having a great time at the first half of the dance. If there was more appropriate music and dancing, everyone would have had a much more enjoyable time.
What type of music will this Homecoming bring – classy style or “Gangnam Style?”
