Frost chills the air as hundreds of students file out the expansive football stadium. Glittering pink dresses and ink-black suits jump in unison to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.” Students line up for warm, saccharine donuts in droves. Hollywood Homecoming slowly comes to a close.

COVID-19 brought a multitude of changes to Upper St. Clair High School. USC changed their long-held 8 class-a-day schedule to a 4 class-a-day model with significantly longer classes. Now, students have a guaranteed lunch and also have more time to seek out much-needed academic help.

Changes like these are noticeable, but what about the smaller ones? USC High School’s Homecoming dances are typically an indoor affair, with dancing in the gym and a photo booth not too far away.

Obviously, the pandemic made the standard procedure more difficult, so the student council had to pursue a new approach. Ashvita Saxena, a member of the student council and a board representative, remarked, “It took a lot more time and teamwork this year. In past years the dance was a walk-through and not contained in one area. This year required more collaborative work.”

Many student council members had to wake up early to help decorate the dance in order to create the shining end product it was. From positioning yards of lighting to laying down the iconic red carpet, our own classmates did it all. So if you see a student council member be sure to thank them!

Also new this year was the donut truck, which judging by the line, was very well received. The truck offered multiple flavors, such as cookies and cream and maple bacon donuts. Mansi Lathia, a junior, enjoyed the donuts: “Well, it was pretty cold, so I guess you could say the donuts were a nice contrast.”

However, despite all the changes, some parts of homecoming stayed the same. Sugar cookies were set out like they are every year, high heels were strewn about the dance floor, and some students simply preferred walking over dancing.

Most importantly, Homecoming remains one of the few times Upper St. Clair High School can truly be together all at once. Freshman, seniors, STEM lovers, history buffs, football players, debate kids; you can find them all at the dance.

Homecoming was not just a nice event to break up the fall semester, but one that put a spotlight on togetherness and school spirit.