The fall season tends to be the busiest and most exciting time of Cistercian social “buzz”—the Freshman Mixer, football games, afterparties, and other smaller events—all epitomize . But there is one event that the Cistercian Upper School pours its heart and soul into every single year—Homecoming.
There aren’t many other schools, if any, in the DFW metroplex that put nearly as much effort into their Homecoming as Cistercian does. For example, not many schools have Upper School students willing to wake up hours earlier than they normally would on a Saturday morning. Not a lot of people like to wake up early on days other than the five weekdays, yet Cistercian students, for the three weeks before homecoming (and even the day of the dance!) do so willingly to help prepare the dance.
And the effort does not stop there. Every lunch period, or really any other open period, most Cistercian students take themselves to the old gym to clock in another hour of setup.
The way this sounds, the setup must be terrible, right? No! Setup, in my opinion, is the best student-led effort not only at Cistercian, but anywhere I have heard of. And not only is it a great effort, but setup is also fun! Each day leading up to Homecoming, you get to be a part of the creation of the best dance in the city.
As a junior, I got to contribute daily to the progress of the Homecoming dance floor, where the majority of the students and their dates spent their time during the event itself. And every day, I was able to enjoy seeing the progress of the massive, 23-foot Star Destroyer as it slowly took shape, and was raised higher and higher into the ceiling (which I may add, was harder than it looked). I also got to take a great part in creating the murals surrounding the dance floor. Prior to the setup, I had an image and idea of what the murals would look like, but our physical creations surpassed even my own expectations.
As the dance got closer and closer, and the murals were fully complete, it was time to raise the Star Destroyer to its max height. Moving the gigantic 400 pound starship was no easy task, and I can remember clearly calling for some assistance as we prepared to lift the massive centerpiece. Roughly 5 seniors, 20 juniors, and about 15 freshmen and sophomores all came together in an instant, dropping whatever they were doing, to lend a helping hand to the rope that would pull up the ship.
Was the thin and gripless rope we had to pull on to raise the thing painful as it dug into my hands? I won’t lie to y’all. Absolutely. But something about having about 40 other people around me going through the same thing made any pain irrelevant, and before I knew it, the Star Destroyer was in the ceiling.
Spending 3 weeks solely on the dance floor, I was not able to be present in many other areas of Homecoming. But as I helped finish assembling the Star Destroyer, and realized that our area was, for the most part, finished, I had the chance to take in everything else. Every single area was constructed with such attention to detail. Every single area had come together so perfectly. Every single area combined to form a giant, jaw-dropping spectacle of a Homecoming dance.
Crucially, if it hadn’t been for the massive student-led effort in this setup, none of what had been accomplished would have happened. Just 10 or 20 students waking up early and coming out to Cistercian would not have cut it, and every Upper Schooler knew it. That’s why at almost every work day, a minimum of 30 or 40 people showed up, ready to make the dance the best it could possibly be.
The most important thing about Homecoming setup is that there is always something for everyone to do. An artist or robotics member is a wonderful asset to setup, but the more important thing is that there are many other students willing to get their hands dirty. Maybe they’ll climb a ladder or two. Maybe they’ll staple some paper to walls, maybe drill some walls together, maybe cover massive objects in paint, or maybe do anything and everything that could possibly be valuable to the greater effort. There is nothing more satisfying than bringing your date to the dance after almost a month of setup, being able to show her everything that’s special about the environment you’ve created, and watching her jaw drop to the floor.
The dance itself would not be nearly the same experience without being surrounded by your own student body’s creations. Something about joining in a massive circle under a 23-foot Star Destroyer with the entire Upper School and their dates as “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver blasts over the speakers brought a massive smile to my face. Swaying back and forth and taking in everything we had accomplished as the dance entered its final minutes was a beautiful moment. There was not a single thought in that moment of “Ugh, I have to be out here tomorrow to take this all down.” Only bright smiles surrounded the dance floor. The dance was a moment where all students seemed to be themselves and enjoy the night. There were sides of just about everyone that I had never seen before. The added effect that this year’s Homecoming happened to fall the day after the final football game of the season also added a sense of fulfillment as the fall season was coming to an end. It added a nice feeling of “going out with a bang” to the busy social season of the fall.
Another satisfying feeling is being told by your date after the dance how amazing the event was, knowing that you were able to partake in the creation of both. Coming in to clean up the next day is not an annoying event by any means. It’s actually a rather sad moment, as everything that you spent the last month pouring your heart and soul into with your closest friends is taken down and put or thrown away in a matter of hours. But at the same time, this sadness still puts a smile on your face, as you think to yourself (except Seniors) “until next time.”