The back-to-school dance received mixed reviews from students. Photo by Tripp Robbins.

Eliza Crowder | Copy Editor

Menlo commenced the 2015-2016 school year with the annual Back to School Dance last night. The dance garnered mixed reactions from the student body, some students claiming it to be a big success because of the theme and eye-capturing decorations, but others were disappointed by the music and song choices.

The theme of the dance turned out to be one of the most well-liked parts of the night. “Instead of going with the traditional ‘America’ theme for [the dance], we decided to vote on some other options this year and went with ‘Glow’. We hope that the theme for this first dance continues to change in years to come,” Student Body Vice President Denna Nazem said.

As for the decorations, in addition to light-up balloons and glow sticks that covered the floor of the gym, there was also a black light that made all of the neon colors glow in the dark. “Everyone really got into the theme this year which made the dance even more fun and a great start to the new year,” sophomore Nicole Priestley said.

Junior Indy Varma agrees with Priestley that the theme was a big hit. “I think the theme was really successful. Having all of the balloons and glow sticks made it a lot of fun too,” Varma said.

While the theme and decorations were popular, some students complained that the music was only mediocre, making the dance less enjoyable in general. “Honestly it was just boring and the music was below average,” junior Ben Somorjai said.

Senior Ashley Pimlott agrees with Somorjai, recognizing both the good and bad features of the dance. “The black lights lights were pretty cool, but about 30 percent of the people were pretty pumped to be there and like 70 percent seemed a little bored after the first 30 minutes,” Pimlott said.

Although there were mixed reactions regarding the actual dance itself, there is no doubt among the student body that this year has been off to a great start in terms of school spirit. “I think our spirit in the beginning of the year has been super strong and so nice to see. I’m slightly biased but I think the seniors did a great job dressing up on the first day and showing the freshmen how fun our school is. Also I loved seeing people from all grades dress up on the spirit day and at the dance,” senior Mia McConnell said. Everything from the first day of school “royal” theme to the 60’s spirit day on Friday to the Back to School dance has indicated that student participation with regards to spirit events on campus is on an upward trend.