Formal Friday: What the seniors have to say
By Avery Horner
This year’s winter formal dance was canceled, yet again, due to conflicts with other activities. Feb. 19 was supposed to be a special day for Bettendorf High School students, more specifically for seniors. The class of 2022 has yet to have a winter dance due to numerous cancellations throughout the past four years. This was disappointing news but not something the seniors hadn’t experienced before. However, Bettendorf student council and teachers came up with a unique alternative called Formal Friday.
Student body president, Macie Zimmerman said, “Formal Friday is on Friday, Feb. 11 during the school day, and it is a day for all students to wear formal attire that they might have worn to the winter dance.”
In addition to Formal Friday, Bettendorf is hosting a spirit week with different dress-up themes every day leading up to Friday. Monday was PJ day, Tuesday was decades day, Wednesday was pink out, and Thursday was celebrity couples/duo day. There were also matchmaker tests and flowers students can send to friends or significant others during this special week.
“February is such a cold and boring month, so a lot of this is honestly just to make school a more fun place to be at this time of the year,” said Zimmerman.
According to a poll on Instagram, 87 percent of people who voted are not planning on dressing up for Formal Friday. Therefore only 13 percent of students who voted are planning to rock their formal wear on this day. However, this poll was taken before the spirit week was implemented into the schedule.
“As a student council group, we realized that not a lot of students were going to dress up on Formal Friday. That is when we decided to do a spirit week to increase student participation in the Formal Friday. We also are doing a contest of best dressed to also motivate people to participate,” said Zimmerman.
Although Bettendorf has tried to make the best out of an unfortunate situation, students, specifically seniors, are still bummed out about not having a real winter dance.
“I’ve never had a winter dance and I honestly just think it is ridiculous. I also do not plan on dressing up for Formal Friday. I don’t want to be uncomfortable and cold all day in school,” senior Macy Wilkins said.
“I will not be dressing up for Formal Friday. I only have two blocks of school as a senior, so it seems pointless,” Delaney Ward said.
Many students had planned on dressing up throughout the week but the majority do not seem to plan on formally dressing up on Friday. However, there are some that are keeping the spirit alive all the way to the end of the week.
“I plan on dressing up all week and on Formal Friday because I’m pretty cool and trying to make the best out of things for my senior year. I think it is a unique idea that could be fun if a lot of people participate. I encourage everyone else to dress up too,” said Zimmerman.
Avery Horner is a senior. This is her first year as a
staff writer for The Growl.
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