Kailynn Bannon
The Southern Editor
As spring break comes to an end, students at Florida Southern College will prepare to dress up and dance for the school’s first official homecoming dance in 13 years.
FSC’s first ever homecoming dance will take place on March 18 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Polk Museum of Art. Hosted by ACE, the ‘Moc’squerade themed dance will feature a student DJ, buffet-style food catered by Guest Services, cake pops and a balloon arch perfect for taking photos.
The event is RSVP only, and the capacity is already full. Fortunately for students that did not RSVP in time, there is a waitlist on Engage if any spots open up. If a student does not get an RSVP, they are allowed to show up to the event and wait outside until a spot opens once someone leaves.
The school will be offering shuttles to take students to the museum, which is a short distance from campus. No dress code will be enforced, but students are welcome to dress semi-formal in the red, black and silver color scheme. The student DJ for homecoming, Travis Sinsabaugh, is excited for the event.
“I’m glad we are getting an event like this on campus and I hope I help give the students the best opportunity to enjoy their Saturday night,” said Sinsabaugh.
ACE Homecoming Director Sierra Schaefer said that this is the first official dance that the school has held since the Founder’s Ball in 2010.
“This is the very first time we’re calling it homecoming,” said Schaefer. “It’s always been called Founder’s Ball.”
The Founder’s Ball always took place during Founder’s week, which is called Spirit Week this year. The last Founder’s Ball was a dance, where students were pictured wearing zebra print, combined with an awards show. Ever since 2010, the ball and awards show were merged to the point where the ball faded out of existence.
Schaefer said that ACE has always wanted to host a homecoming dance, but between COVID-19 and position changes for Homecoming Director, it has never been able to become a reality until now.
“It’s been an idea, but it hasn’t been actually done,” said Schaefer. “This is the first year that we’re going to advertise it as Homecoming Dance rather than Founder’s Ball.”
Spirit Week will take place March 13 through March 18. The week will be filled with fun activities for students including a tailgate for a men’s lacrosse game where students can get free bucket hats, and a carnival with a 36-foot Hulk themed slide.
The carnival will take place on Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Mr. George’s Green. There will be games run by the Multicultural Student Council, along with free traditional carnival food such as corn dogs and cotton candy.
On the Friday of Spirit Week, there will be a Founder’s Day Convocation at 10:50 a.m. in Branscomb Auditorium, in which attendance is mandatory. The school is hosting author and Harvard professor Arthur Brooks as a speaker for Convocation.
There will be themes for every day of Spirit week, which can be found on the ACE instagram and on printed posters around campus.
Throughout Spirit Week, ACE will also be hosting a Goosechase, an online scavenger hunt experience where students will be able to win prizes. Once students download the app, make an account and enter the code, XDKKL7, they will be able to start playing.
“We have 52 events and we’ve got some pretty big prizes,” said Schaefer.
