Social gatherings are very important for teenagers and kids, which is one of the reasons why the COVID-19 pandemic impacted people so significantly. On Oct. 28, Grover Cleveland High School hosted its own Halloween Monster Mash, the first school dance since returning from the pandemic.

Students of all grades put on their best costumes and gathered in the cafeteria for the school’s first Monster Mash. A common theme observed was the dressing up in Halloween costumes. These are costumes which are recognizable as vampires, cops, cats, pirates, and fairytale characters. A senior student said “I ended up dressing up as a vampire because I was running out of ideas, so I wanted to wear something basic and I just went with vampire.” Basic Halloween costumes are always easy to come up with; never fail to look good, and provide a feel of nostalgia.Overall, students’ opinions on the music played were very mixed. A junior student who came dressed as Rudolph said that “It’s kind of wack to be honest, I don’t like it.” Meanwhile, senior student Pablo said there were “very good choices [of music]. These choices made these students go wild! Yelling, screaming, jumping… everything, you name it!” Another student expressed his opinion of the music with profanity, and said “They should make me the DJ, I’ll put the best music [on] for y’all!” There was an emphasized need for more trendy music.

An area that can use some improvement are activities. There were traditional games set up such as cornhole, but student engagement was lacking. If students were not on the dance floor getting sturdy to trending rap/pop music, they were sitting on the couches, or up against a wall on their phones. “At the very start, everyone was sitting down, it was quite boring,” said a senior student. 

However, although students’ opinions might be harsh on the school event, it was the first of its kind in a very long time. Contributions made by the student council, Mr. Colbert, and the parent association are what allowed the night to go on. Without a doubt, students are excited for the next grand school event. “I hope the next dance we have is just as good as this one, if not better,” said senior Janier.