This year’s homecoming was supposed to be “The Sweetest night of the Year,” so at what point did it turn sour? Rumored spiked drinks, crowded areas, and even music taste affected these views. The warm night of September 10^th was supposed to be one to remember; although, the reasons weren’t as positive as most would have liked.

“If this was my first homecoming, I don’t know if I would want to attend again. It was just kinda… plain. There wasn’t much to it,” said Argo Sophomore, Dalia Alramli.

The theme of this year’s “Candyland” Homecoming was one that was critiqued plenty.

“They could do better than Candyland,” said 15-year-old, Aniyus Mitchell.

The theme was not the only thing that was critiqued. The music that was played was fit for some groups of students, whilst others were hesitant.

“I liked the music towards the end of the night. It was fun to dance to,” said Mitchell. On the contrary, Alramli said, “There wasn’t really a good mix of singalong and dance songs.”

The music atmosphere changed multiple times throughout the night and differing opinions came about.

This issue was one that was prominent throughout the homecoming talks.

The Assistant Principal, Ms. Nicole Wasko, stated, “There’s obviously a diverse group of students here, so there’s a diverse group of music taste… Maybe next year we can have sections of different music themes, so then if someone doesn’t like a kind of music they can go to another section.”

The issue of sweaty bodies touching students, tripping over cords, and even tripping over each other was one that students mentioned as well.

Mitchell described the situation as “just very crowded, very tight.” The small area was easy for security to watch over students and make sure everything was running smoothly.

The question that students would like answered the most is, were the drinks watched closely enough?

“Everything was just kind of thrown together last minute… I mean, it was Gatorade and water out of tubs from the Athletic Department,” said Alramli.

The tubs of Gatorade were one of the biggest concerns of homecoming. It was rumored that the drinks were spiked, dangerous to drink, and even that students were ending up in the hospital. The Assistant Principle states, “Unfortunately, I think one student says something or hears something and exaggerates it, and it gets trickled down to a bunch of other students. I obviously knew that it didn’t occur because we knew where the water was coming from… There was no opportunity for students to be able to do that,” she says.

The rumor was quickly shut down, and the fact was laid out that simply, “nothing happened,” Ms. Wasko stated in a private interview.

More than the sour moments, there were definitely many sweet ones throughout the night. To end off the 2022 Candyland Homecoming, Argo High provided fireworks for the students to enjoy the last bit of the night. “We thought it would be a nice thing at the end of the dance for students to get to watch them,” said Ms. Wasko.

The Candyland Homecoming was one to remember.

Mitchell states, “All the interactions, all the people I was with, it’s always fun. Seeing everyone at school, but in a much different environment.”