Pali’s Homecoming Dance took place in the large gym on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 22. Planned by the Associated Student Body Leadership (ASB) Homecoming committee, the “Midnights” themed dance followed the homecoming football game and pep rally on the previous day. 

Senior Molly Cohen, head of the ASB homecoming committee, said that the “Midnights” theme was chosen in light of Taylor Swift’s new album, released on Oct. 21.

“We just wanted to encapsulate the dreaminess and nighttime fun, as well as stars and the idea of a starry night,” Cohen said. 

Tickets sold out after two weeks of ticket sales. However, due to high demand, the committee decided to sell an additional set number of tickets for one day during nutrition. ASB Sophomore representative Taylor Regen said that this was a way for students who missed the opportunity to have another chance at purchasing tickets. 

“The demand for tickets led us to sell more because obviously everyone wants to go to homecoming,” Regen explained. “It’s a really fun event. It’s a prime moment of high school. But also we have fire capacity limits that we follow [restricting how many more tickets can be added on].”  

Senior Drew Kerkorian said that he was unable to get tickets this year due to the long lines. Being his final year at Pali, he said that he felt nostalgic about his past experiences at homecoming, particularly meeting up with friends to take pictures, eating dinner together and going to the dance. 

Homecoming Duchess Jean Haney, a sophomore, said that she had a very memorable experience at the dance this year. 

“I was a little bit overwhelmed because I didn’t expect to win,” she said. 

This year, rain was falling while students arrived dressed in their formal attire. Haney said that this only added to her experience. 

“We were getting wet, but it was really funny,” she said.

ASB President and senior Peter Garff, who helped set up the event, said that Homecoming was successfully carried out.

“The rain made things difficult, but we were able to adapt quickly,” he said. “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.”