CHS has recently adopted a new policy that allows only students attending this school to attend the dance and restricts outside students from participating.

According to Assistant Principal Amy Skeens-Benton, there were 3,400 students at the Homecoming Dance last year.

“We went and discussed the situation with the PTO, and it got to the point that safety had become a major concern. The only solutions were either to limit the dance to specific grade levels, or to limit the outside guests, and so we made the second choice,” Skeens-Benton said.

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However, not everyone agrees with this new policy. Senior Daniel Xu found himself unable to bring his would-be date to the dance.

“I feel that it is a little unnecessary that the school has to limit Homecoming this year to only students at Carmel, because for the past few years we have had the freedom of signing papers to bring people from other schools in,” Xu said.

Skeens-Benton says CHS is trying to make a huge effort in increasing supervision and placing more emphasis on safety.

Although there are students who are upset by the new policy, many of them agree with the school’s emphasis on safety.

“I understand that it can be a safety issue. The more people there are, the higher the chances of issues arising. Last year, everything seemed to flow smoothly, and I’m sure it will be the same this year as long as they are prepared, the equipment is safe and secure, and they have adults monitoring,” Xu said.

According to Skeens-Benton, this policy will only apply to the Homecoming Dance.

Skeens-Benton said, “Since there is no longer a Winter Formal, and since prom is only for two grade levels, the Homecoming Dance is really the only event that this policy will apply to.”