Wilson SGA to hold first ‘Spring Fling’ dance

Nate Belman, Magazine Executive Editor

The Spring Fling at Wilson is being hosted March 30 in the atrium from 8 to 11 p.m. The theme for the event is springtime, and there will be decorations adorning the school building to celebrate the coming of the new season.

The tickets were sold for the three weeks leading up to the event in the atrium at STEP. While tickets to the Homecoming dance increase in price as the event approaches, the SGA took a departure from this pricing schedule and decided to charge a flat $5 for each ticket to the event. “The budget [for Spring Fling] is lower than Homecoming,” explained sophomore secretary Walker Price.

All proceeds from the event will go to True Colors United, an organization for homeless LGBTQ teens.

The goal of Spring Fling, besides supporting homeless LGBTQ youth, is to expand the schedule of school events. “This is the first time that I can remember that Wilson has had a dance in the spring that isn’t Prom,” said Price.

Spring Fling partly serves as a test for the SGA, which failed to execute a larger scale carnival, called ‘Tigerfest,’ last year. The Tigerfest cancellation was caused primarily by a lack of preparedness by the SGA, and a planning structure that relied on the work of uninvolved upperclassmen.

Gootman explained that Spring Fling has always been considered by the SGA, but previous efforts faced resistance from the school. “We have thought about [having another dance] a lot and if it would be worth it for the past few years, [but] we tend to get pushback from the administration on additional student recreational activities like a dance.”

The event is significantly less popular than its other school dance peers, homecoming and prom, and some students have been apathetic about its formation. “I am not going to the Spring Fling, I think that it’s an ok idea but they need to advertise it more,” said junior Leah Winchell.

“It seems like [Spring Fling] was thrown together last minute. I wish they talked about this [more] and [had] Spirit Week a month before it actually happened,” added senior Camille Pratt.