March 13, 2015
The commons were dark, glow sticks were plentiful, dance music played from the speakers, and candy littered the tables.
There was a student deejay, a delivered pizza, and colorful, flashing lights to boot. With plenty of room to dance and plenty of good music to dance to, where were the dancing students?
Maureen Hill has helped host the event for the last six years.
“I do wish that other students felt more welcome to come to GLOW dances,” she said. “But people who aren’t already members of GLOW tend not to come to the GLOW dance even though we put posters out and it’s in the announcements… I’m not sure why.”
Nine people had arrived at City High to dance the night away at this year’s classic rock-themed “Rock and GLOW Dance” Valentine’s Day dance, hosted by GLOW – Gay Lesbian Or Whatever. Three freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors, and two West students came to celebrate in the Commons.
“This year, the turn-out was pretty small. We didn’t get a lot of fundraising,” Hill said. “The people who came to the dance were pretty regular attenders of GLOW meetings, so it kind of seemed like a GLOW meeting, but on a Saturday with lights and music.”
In previous years, the turnout was larger. In 2014’s dance, there was a dance off, a game of Apples To Apples, and plenty of other students who milled around, watching either activity.
“Every year, it’s different,” She explained, “But the kids who attend seem to have a really good time.”
Rachel Hittner ‘15, helped plan and gather supplies for the dance, but was unable to attend. Hittner compared this year’s dance to previous years’.
“It was smaller,” Hittner said. “There was less to do and fewer people and less inclusivity of other schools.”
While she had an instrumental part in the preparation, Hittner had mixed feelings about the outcome.
“Finding everything we needed went very smoothly,” She said, “communication and organization didn’t go as smoothly.”
Hittner was responsible for buying decorations for the dance, the theme for which was decided on only a few weeks before the date.
Organization seemed to be the main concern to Hittner. “I would have planned ahead by quite a few weeks.”
An attendee of the dance, but not a regular attendee of GLOW, Phil Rademacher ‘16 enjoyed the dance.
Rademacher compared the GLOW dance to other City High parties, like Homecoming, favorably: “It was better, there were less people.”
Hittner and Rademacher agreed that the lack of advertising was the most likely reason few people came.
“GLOW needed to get itself out there, like actually handing flyers out or [advertising it] on the announcements,” Hittner said.
Rademacher wasn’t a part of the planning for the dance. He offered insight for others who weren’t directly involved.
“There was more in the announcements about [other city parties],” Rademacher explained. “For GLOW, it was like the last day, and it appeared in the announcements. The advertising wasn’t the best.”
Hill believed the best part about GLOW was its inclusivity and sense of community with other schools/GSAs (Gay-Straight Alliances).
“It’s more than just us,” Hill said. “We’re part of a bigger community with other things that unify us besides which school we go to.”
Because of this, she didn’t feel the dance achieved its purpose.
“In terms of our mission of educating and opening up to the rest of the school, I think we might have missed the mark this year.”
Your donation will support the student journalists of Iowa City High School. For 2023, we are trying to update our video and photo studio, purchase new cameras and attend journalism conferences.