Since it was first established in 1939 to encourage friendship between WGHS and KHS, the Friendship Dance has been an annual tradition. It’s a time for students to enjoy music, dance and have a fun night with friends, though ticket prices stand in the way of attending this dance. It has been said at multiple student assemblies that the ticket sales from the dance is for school funding. But what specifically are these tickets funding?
Emma Snow, freshman, said she doesn’t know much about the ticket sales. She said she is interested in learning what the money is used for and how the dance is organized.
“My guess is that they’d be raising money for something,” Snow said. “I have wondered [where the money goes].”
Mr. Alex Clark, sophomore principal, said the Black Achievement Culture Club (BACC) is one of the groups raising money. He explained why the BACC is involved in the dance and how they are using the money for future projects.
“The BACC, they’re the sponsor of the Friendship Dance.” Clark said. “They use [the money raised] for the trip that they go on in the spring for college visits.”
Dr. Shiree Yeggins, sponsor of BACC, said the goal of the club is to make everyone feel included in the school. She also said they want to encourage learning and education.
“The role of BACC is to create a positive learning environment and culture for all students.” Yeggins said. “[It’s] to provide a space for courageous conversations.”
She said the BACC hosts many school events, such as the Ramona Miller African American celebration and a service learning project, to bring inclusivity to KHS and foster a positive culture. She also said how the BACC helps for the Friendship Dance and what the club’s role is in the organization of the dance. She said there are many tasks that need to be done to actually organize the dance.
“We plan it,” Yeggins said. “How planning goes is: identifying when tickets go on sale, [sending out] permission slips for outside guests [and] making sure information regarding the dress expectations for the dance are out.”
She also said the BACC has to communicate with the students who will be on court. She said they must coordinate many different tasks relating to necessities at the dance like security.
“Collecting bios for students who are going to be on court, purchasing the flowers for the young ladies, the boutonniere for the young men, the king and the queen had coordinated with Webster Groves as that is a joint effort,” Yeggins said. “[We are in charge of] working with the DJ, security, decorations, the whole thing.”
Clark also said chaperones need to be vetted and trained as well. Many people are needed to run the dance, and he said that volunteers perform various jobs to help.
“The [volunteer chaperones] do not stay the whole time; they just want to see everybody dressed up and having fun,” Clark said. “But we do have paid chaperones that are here working the ticket booth and monitoring. [They make] sure the water is full, the bathrooms are empty and everything’s okay.”
Yeggins said the funds are split once all the money is collected. She said since the BACC organizes the Friendship Dance, they are in charge of paying for the needs of the dance.
“Once the ticket sales are complete, we take that pot,” Yeggins said. “BACC takes half and pays the DJ, the security, the decorations and the costs of printed tickets. We pay all the bills and then the other half of the money is divided among the [grade levels].”
Clark explained what the grade levels spend their portion of the money on. He said each grade uses it for different activities throughout the school year and it is saved for graduation events.
“The individual classes, that’s something they use every year trying to raise as much money for graduation,” Clark said. “The after graduation party that happens here on campus to give away computers, refrigerators [and] iPads to the graduating class.”
Yeggins said the funding the BACC and grade levels get from the Friendship Dance funds many great projects. She said she wants everyone to enjoy both the dance and what the dance funds in the future.
“The Friendship Dance is a longstanding tradition and I’m very hopeful that the BACC will continue to be involved, and that we make it what all students want to participate in and have a great time [with],” Yeggins said. “I want to encourage all students, the entire Kirkwood student body, to feel [that] they are more than welcome to come to any event or activity that we have, join any meeting because I think we’re all better together.”
