With turnout similar to last year, the junior class cabinet once again struggled to meet its goal for Winter Formal ticket sales, continuing a pattern of underperformance compared to Homecoming. This year, the cabinet aimed to sell around 450 tickets, but only 300 were sold, with sophomores and freshmen buying the fewest.

Senior class president Ellora Horan, who organized the previous Winter Formal, said she thought last year’s low attendance, particularly among freshmen and sophomores, was a result of hosting two dances at a hotel.

“This year was a little bit more surprising, because Homecoming was in the gym, so usually people look forward to Winter Formal more because it’s supposed to be a little bit more upscale. It’s in a hotel, it’s off campus,” Horan said. “So now that we see that the trend has continued, it’s maybe something to think about, like is Winter Formal still worth doing if people aren’t interested in it?”

The junior class cabinet started planning the dance back in September, locking in the venue at the Crowne Plaza in Foster City and selecting a DJ and decor. When ticket sales began, junior class vice president Danielle Song said they initially attributed the low ticket sales to miscommunication about the date. They eventually realized students were simply unenthusiastic about the dance.

“Our plan was to send out as many videos as possible, put up as much flyers, hoping that people kind of knew that this was happening,” Song said. “But I guess it’s hard. Now, in retrospect, when I look back at it, it’s not that we had a miscommunication. I think you can’t really force people to go to something they don’t want to go to.”

Song said the cabinet was disappointed, given how much time and effort they put into the dance’s success.

“We thought we were going to sell so many more tickets than we actually did. We had such high hopes,” Song said. “… But it’s hard not to feel discouraged, because you put in so much effort to plan something just for it to not turn out how you want.”

Sophomore Laila McIlwain, who has not attended Formal in either of her high school years but has gone to Homecoming, said the dance seems less fun because her friends never go.

“I feel like a lot of my friends just don’t go,” McIlwain said. “I also feel like, because overall, not as many people go. It’s just not as fun. It’s kind of empty and weird vibes.”

Horan also noted the choice not to attend is influenced by a “group mentality.”

“It got blown out of proportion, like the number of people who weren’t going, and I think just our school culture, in general, is just more based on the group mentality,” Horan said. “So I think if people think other people are not going, then they’re not going to want to go, and I’m not sure why this idea got created surrounding Winter Formal.”

Because the dance serves as the primary fundraiser for the senior class, junior class secretary Kylie Min said the lack of Formal sales will affect funding for senior year events.

“Honestly, this was our biggest money-making event. It’s our only, and it’s our biggest chance to make money for the entire senior year,” Min said.

Although the current senior class is covered by surplus funds left by the class of 2025, Horan said this could become a potential problem in the future.

“The same thing’s gonna happen for next year, like the money we make off prom will go to the junior class, but since we didn’t make much money at all off of Winter Formal, we don’t have as much money to give down to the next class,” Horan said. “So that continues, and eventually, the funds will get tighter.”

Based on the turnout, Min said there will likely be a conversation about whether to continue hosting Winter Formal.

“The way things are going right now, with the underclassmen not participating as much, I don’t see a very bright future for large school dances,” Min said.