Circle Drive Dance: Great New Dance Atmosphere, Some Safety Concerns
The Circle Drive dance is an effective West Nation fundraiser that allows students to have fun while helping raise money for our school. The loud music, bright lights, and crazy outfits make this rave-like event a must-go for all students.
Mrs. Giffin from West Nation explains, “The Circle Drive Dance is our largest fundraiser of the year. It helps us support many student organizations and activities throughout the year.”
However this year’s Circle Drive was different from previous years. The set up went above and beyond that of past years. A company from Arlington Heights, Pro-Mix Audio and Lighting, was used for the lighting and the sound.
According to junior Ethan Schmidt, “The lights and staging was awesome. It really added to the overall atmosphere of Circle Drive. It was like you were at an actual concert.”
The setup was definitely a surprise from previous years. The simple white tent had turned into a stage and pillars of colorful lights. While the lights and stage blew past dances out of the water, some students have recounted the dance as being not as fun as former Circle Drive dances.
In the words of junior Bailey Ytterdahl, “It was not the best and could have been more fun. Last year was better.”
However, junior Alyssa McMillan’s said, “The lights and the stage were definitely cool. The music was modern and stuff that I like to listen to, but I was upset that I got shut down more than once.”
Senior Emily Seibert said, “Overall I thought it was pretty different from previous years, but fun. I just wish that they didn’t shut down the mosh pit.”
As mentioned, throughout the night, the dance was shut down multiple times due to unsafe circumstances. The music was turned off during these periods on the account that there was too much pushing and therefore the dance had turned into a safety hazard.
Assistant Principal for Student Services, Mr. Mitchell, commented on the subject saying, “For any large event, student safety is always our major concern. There were a couple medical incidents that caused us to slow the dance down so that our supervision could then take care of [any possible] student injuries that we had.”
Mr. Mitchell continues, explaining, “We always look at structure and think about if there are any changes that we could make. Is there a better place we could put the DJ? Do we need more light? Things like that. We also then just look at sheer number of supervisors and venue. Part of safety is just communication with students, so that they understand the expectations for the dance.”
Throughout the years, Circle Drive has proven to be a well awaited event by the entire student body. The event did not proceed without incident, however it once again proved to be an effective fundraiser and an enjoyable dance for the students of Glenbard West.
