The turn of the fall season signifies the start of Homecoming season, a time when students begin preparing for the annual dance. Richard Montgomery’s Homecoming took place on Sept. 28, and the week leading up to the classic celebration was full of HoCo proposals, hallway decorating, and school spirit.

This year’s Spirit Week consisted of the following themes: Maryland Monday, Tourist Tuesday, Class Color Wednesday, Tie-day Thursday, and Black and Gold Friday. The aim of this Spirit Week, as with all others, is to foster a sense of unity amongst students prior to the first home game of the season. While RM soundly defeated Walter Johnson in last Friday’s home game, some students feel as though the Spirit Week themes failed to fully embody the HoCo atmosphere.

“I thought they could have been better, they weren’t that exciting or as fun as I would have liked,” junior Nicole Presentado said.

RM Junior Amelia Green shared Presentado’s sentiments. “I feel like they should have had pajama day, or something more fun,” Green said.

While some may have been disappointed by the Spirit Week days, many students showed school spirit and later attended Homecoming over the weekend. Set to the theme “Around the World,” decorations embellished the school gym. The gym was divided into two sections—one side for dancing and the other for relaxing and taking photographs—and students stored purses, shoes, and other belongings in the auditorium.

Although most students enjoyed Homecoming, the music selection did not appeal to everyone. “There were a lot of [songs] you couldn’t really dance to,” junior Leonor Gonzalez said.

With each HoCo ticket costing thirty dollars, pricing was also a point of contention. Gonzalez said, “A lot of us don’t work at this age, and we can’t just go to our parents and be like ‘Can I have 30 dollars just for a night.’” Likewise, freshman Hannah Phillips said, “I had a few friends who wanted to go but it was expensive, so they couldn’t.”

However, Phillips added, “You should go at least once during high school because you meet new people and it’s just fun to be able to release all your stress from school.”

Despite some of its faults, Homecoming has been an important part of RM culture and will continue to be for years to come.