The weekend of September 28th and 29th, was Homecoming Weekend at Whitney Young and students were raving with excitement as they welcomed the newly rekindled football team back into their season. For many generations, one of the most memorable parts of our high school experience has been the act of dressing up and piling into a small space to dance with your peers. As the centuries roll on, the culture and activities that surround high school have varied and changed, but the simple school dance has been an aspect of the high school experience that has never wavered.

However, many of the traditions encompassing homecoming have changed from year to year. For example, in the past, homecoming was an event mainly for couples. While nowadays it is more widely accepted to enjoy the homecoming dance with a group of friends, in the 1980’s and 90’s, if you did not have a date, there wasn’t really a reason to go. Also, during that time, homecoming was an event solely for the students returning back to school, hence the name of the dance itself. But nowadays, homecoming is more about celebrating school pride than anything else!

Frances Harris, ‘20, says that her favorite homecoming tradition from her time at Whitney Young has been the pep rallies that occur every year in our school gym. She says, “I like the pep rallies because it’s a way for everyone to come together and celebrate every aspect of the school. Homecoming itself might be about sports but, I really like how at Whitney Young, pep rallies showcase dance, choir, band, and many other artsy performances. I feel that this gives everyone at our school a chance to feel included in the celebratory nature of the day.”  

Whitney Young has gone through its own spiral of traditions throughout time. Karren Boatner, Whitney Young English teacher and former Whitney Young student (class of ‘03), says that “One of the main differences between homecoming when I was a student and now is that our pep rallies were at the football game. I was on Poms and we would have a performance before the game during the pep rally, and another one during half time. That was the most exciting thing for us.”

As years go on, traditions change, but the wonderful, exuberant energy that encompasses homecoming week never falters. We hope the community of students at Whitney Young had an exciting and safe homecoming weekend!