You can feel the energy before you even step into the building, transforming Westford Academy into a botanical wonderland. Iridescent strobe lights flicker from the cafeteria and paint students’ faces as they scream the lyrics to their favorite songs. For a rare moment, surrounded by this chaos, the entire WA student body is able to come together.
WA’s Student Council (STUCO) decided to make this year’s “Fall Fling,” which took place on Saturday, Oct. 25, open to all grades for the first time since 2022, as opposed to their previous restriction that only allowed upperclassmen to attend. This change was crucial in elevating the student body culture and garnering the most connectivity between all grades. And while WA can now enjoy a fully inclusive semi-formal, the long lasting effect of the restriction has stained the community with a division we must work to remove.
“[The dance is] something that, no matter what your strengths or weaknesses are — school-wise, sports-wise, club-wise — you can come, you can participate, and you can be with your friends,” STUCO Fall-Fling Committee Chair and junior Caitlyn Popelka said. “It’s welcome to everyone. It’s not limited to anybody’s abilities.”
The pandemic initially forced WA to cancel any school-wide events, but a fall semi-formal dance was reintroduced at the start of the 2022-2023 school year. Tickets were sold at lunch and available to all students, but attendance was limited in numbers due to the 600–person fire hazard capacity of the cafeteria. This is decidedly less than the approximately 1500 students at WA, indicating the dance was never meant to accommodate the entire school.
I was a freshman when the semi-formal was first reintroduced, and it was the highlight of my fall. At the time, the dance was new to all students so there was no preexisting stigma in favor or against it. According to STUCO President and senior Lauren Flaherty, all 600 tickets ultimately sold out, but not all upperclassmen managed to get a ticket, which warranted the change to only allowing upperclassmen at the 2023 semi-formal. Though I can understand prioritizing a fulfilling high school experience for students who are soon to leave, the immediate solution should have been to find a larger location for the dance, not to cut off two grades entirely.
Ultimately, restricting the access of two grades caused the dance to lose its spark. Allowing all students to attend the event gave the school something to collectively look forward to while fostering peer-to-peer relationships outside of the classroom, but adding divisions to better accommodate upperclassmen only made others feel left out.
“I personally don’t think it’s a problem that the Homecoming is open to all grades, because I feel like people should just be able to participate in these school events,” senior Maruthi Birudavolu said. “And just because someone’s a freshman or sophomore doesn’t mean they should be excluded. […] I think homecoming can at least be one thing that [all grades] can come to.”
According to senior STUCO Marketing & Publicity Coordinator Sharon Lin, the number of tickets sold only steadily declined after the removal of underclassmen, with 402 sold in 2023 and 275 sold in 2024. This drastic change in attendance from the initially sold-out event made one thing very clear: an upperclassmen-only semi-formal stripped the event of what made it special.
During my sophomore year (2023-2024), I was participating in the German Exchange program at WA, and STUCO was hosting the first upperclassmen-only semi-formal while my exchange partner was here. It had the potential to be an amazing experience to strengthen the connections we’d formed with our partners, but instead the three other sophomores on the exchange and I stayed at home while our exchange partners and the rest of the group enjoyed the event.
It wasn’t the biggest devastation in the world, but the small moments add up. This is one of many stories that don’t account for a bigger picture when it comes to inclusivity. It’s not always as simple as assuming that because the rest of your grade can’t go, everyone is equal. Assuming students are primarily friends with peers in their grade dismisses complex relationship dynamics and restricts not only their access to the event, but also which friendships they can nourish.
According to Flaherty, after noticing a clear decrease in attendance and disconnect throughout the student body, STUCO decided to allow all grades to attend the 2025 Fall Fling, opting to open other areas of the school if they were to exceed the 600 person fire hazard capacity of the cafeteria.
“Last year we tried to do a freshman-sophomore dance. No one showed up to it. So maybe having [an all-inclusive dance] with all grades will incline more people to come to it […],” Flaherty said. “[Giving them a separate dance] is kind of making [underclassmen] feel less than, which we didn’t want to do anymore.”
According to a brief by EdResearch for Action, students who feel connected and involved in their school community are more likely to show higher attendance, academic performance, and better mental health. Furthermore, as the Chief Executive Officer of Varsity Brands Adam Blumenfeld states, “The beauty of school spirit lies in its inclusivity.” Through his study, Blumenfeld found that spirited students are more likely to pursue higher education and often report improved well-being.
These studies reiterate the importance of providing opportunities for all students to converse outside the classroom, and prove that these can be more than just fun events—they can benefit individuals academically, mentally, and socially.
Many students argue that because the underclassmen will eventually be able to attend the same dances of their upperclassmen counterparts, there’s no gap in opportunity. A common sentiment amongst current upperclassmen, who were previously restricted from attending the dance, is that the policy change is “unfair.”
“I do not think the Fall Fling should be open to all grades, especially now […]. My grade is the only one that didn’t get [to go to the Fall-Fling as underclassmen],” junior Carrie Guo said. “The seniors have already had one, and the underclassmen [are] getting one, so good for them. I just feel like it’s kind of unfair.”
While I can fully understand the frustration around this decision, I’d argue this is even more of a reason to allow all grades to participate; we have to be open to improving the school for future generations of students, even if we weren’t granted the same privileges. Furthermore, if the juniors and seniors have all the dances — the Fall Fling, Cotillion, Prom — what is left for the freshmen and sophomores?
“It’s one of the only things that is really open to all grades, and it’s an experience where you can be around people you wouldn’t talk to otherwise,” Flaherty said. “So it’s a good opportunity for people to come together out of school and enjoy themselves.”
The struggle now is returning the Fall Fling to its prime attendance. The most recent event drew in around 450 students, which is an improvement from 2024, but nowhere near a reflection of the entire student body. To the upperclassmen — it’s important to keep an open mind to underclassmen attending the dance so that more students can feel comfortable and excited to celebrate the new school year. As for the underclassmen — don’t miss out on your high school experience just because something is new. As the cliche goes, four years go by in the blink of an eye and I promise you will regret not embracing all of the amazing things WA has to offer.
