Due to low turnout rates in previous years, the UC High ASB has decided to only hold two school dances this year, as they attempt to recuperate funds.

   According to ASB President Meredith Olney, “Admin and ASB weren’t really satisfied with the number of people that showed up to our Winter Formal Dance last year.” 

   According to ASB Treasurer Benjamin Velasquez, “Due to the lack of ticket sales in the past three years, we’ve lost some money, so this year, the admin team and the advisors thought that we should only have one dance, excluding Prom.”

   Last year’s Winter Formal dance failed to meet the required ticket sales by a large margin. “We needed around 500 people to show up to break even with the amount that we spent on the dance, but we only had two or three hundred people show up,” Olney explained. 

   “ASB lost money on that dance. It was really discouraging for us to see people not wanting to come, and ultimately ASB and admin have decided that we’re not going to have a third dance. There will only be Homecoming and [Senior] Prom, which is going to be put on by the Senior Class,” continued Olney.

   “The funding [for the dances] comes from our ASB fund. ASB has a certain budget for every year and this year, our budget is a bit smaller than it was in the last few years’ because we lost some money due to last year’s dances,” said Olney.

   These low turnouts may even affect the classes in the coming years. According to Olney, “We’re really trying to use this as a rebuilding year and trying to get people more excited about school events, making sure that we have that dance in the next few years. So hopefully, we will be able to do that. It’s not like this is the end-all ‘we’re-not-having-another-dance-for-the-rest-of-history,’ it’s just that this year, we weren’t able to put one on.”

   “The next few classes will probably also stick with just two dances. I’m sure it’s not the first time we’ve lost money on a dance. We’ll probably just have to be a lot more cautious this year and next year,” Velasquez explained. 

   “Obviously, everyone wants to have more than two dances, since they are a lot of fun and it’s a chance to make memories, but we can’t be losing a lot of money to the dances. We’d have to advertise them a lot more if we were to do it again,” Velasquez added.

   According to Senior Kristian Lansang, “I think that it is unfair that last year’s seniors were able to experience the Winter Formal Dance and we only get to experience Prom and Homecoming. Senior year is supposed to be fun but they’re only decreasing the events that make our last year of high school enjoyable.”