The music is blasting and the ground is vibrating from the beat and constant dancing. The air is muggy and electric with the energy of hundreds of enthusiastic Liberty students. This could mean only one thing—the arrival of Homecoming: a special time of year where the spirit is hyped and the anticipation is tangible for traditions that occur even before the iconic dance.
For years, Liberty has maintained the traditions of Grease Lightning, Drill Team, Bod Squad, Powder Puff, Buff Puff, tug-o-war, class competitions, the victory cry, spirit days, the Homecoming parade, and of course, the football game. However, this year, with construction, some of these customs had to be changed.
This year, the Homecoming assembly was divided with freshman and sophomores together for one assembly and juniors and seniors together for another. The band was unable to perform its usual half time show with formation changes due to construction blocking access to the field during the summer when they usually have band camp. The biggest effect may not be as noticeable, but without a commons, students have been spread out around the campus losing a central place where the spirit of Homecoming can be easily seen.
“With this construction, we are going to have to come up with new traditions and new ideas to be creative and keep the spirit going,” band director Phil Donley said.
Similar to the issues construction caused, the absence of Michelle Munson, the ASB coordinator, due to family reasons created more difficulties with the planning of the Homecoming week. However, the assistance of the “Triple Threat”—Vice Principal Donna Hood, Social Studies teacher Amy Cooke, and English teacher Tonja Reischl—allowed ASB to handle the change effectively.
When asked about how the Liberty students this year will have made Homecoming great even through all the difficulties, ASB President Nicole Nguyen said, “It’s all about our involvement and how much we want to take our Homecoming experience to the next level.”
Despite all the inconveniences caused by construction and other changes this year, ‘Lights, Camera, Liberty’ continued the tradition of the week of spirit for Liberty High School.
“Homecoming brings the school together for a whole entire week and is a nice time to really have fun and kind of forget about the school aspect of our community, hang with your friends, and dress up. Everyone’s just so much happier and the attitude is just more loving, despite the challenges we face,” Nguyen said.