Photo by Denebola Staff
By Gaby Lewis
Managing Editor of Opinions
On April 28th most of the junior class will get together for semi. Everyone has been talking about what dress they are wearing, who they are going with, and where pictures are going to take place beforehand. With semi coming up, I am ready for a night to get together with friends for pictures and dancing. I am not expecting a great DJ or the Newton Marriott to suddenly look like the urban and beautiful stateroom used for prom, but I am expecting to have fun.
Semi seems like a part of the quintessential high school experience. It is something that I’ll likely see photos of when I’m older, and wonder why anyone would ever wear the dress I chose. Nostalgia for when I was in high school that seems necessary for adults. At South, semi is a part of being in high school and something that should be remembered. Because everyone in the junior class experiences semi together, I think it contributes to something South continues to struggle with: unity.
School spirit continues to be a problem for South, and people seem to associate more with their club or sport than the school itself. Semi fosters an environment where everyone in the grade is excited about a school-sanctioned event. That is the definition of school spirit, and it brings the whole class together. Most things with the term “school-sanctioned” in front of it trigger an eye roll, but with semi, there is an aura of excitement. Junior year is so incredibly stressful, and semi provides a refuge with something positive to associate with being a junior. Instead of talking about how stressful standardized testing is, people can talk about the new dress they found at the mall this weekend; it is a nice change that can be seen through the whole grade.
The class unity can be seen in even the smallest ways. For semi and prom, class officers tend to start a Facebook group with all the girls in the grade to post their dresses so people don’t end up wearing the same dress. It originally stressed me out when people started posting dresses while I didn’t have one, but it has become fun to see what dresses everyone is getting. Whenever a new dress is posted, everyone around me starts talking about what they like about the dress, and where they are getting theirs. It is an immediate conversation starter between every girl in the grade. Likes and positive comments flood the dresses, and it is a fun group for all the girls in the grade. There are so many different people at South, but the little things about semi are ways to strike up fun conversations with just about any junior.
Dresses are not the only conversation starter. I love that everytime I open up Instagram there’s a new semi proposal video, each one more creative than the next. From signs with creative and witty puns to full-scale dances in the middle of the hallway, it can seem like everyone is trying to outdo each other for each semi proposal. Yet, it is more of a collaborative process than anything else. People bounce ideas off of each other, posters are positively commented on when seen in the hallway and on Instagram, and people often help each other plan the proposal and execute it.
You can talk to just about any junior about semi, and it is a way to bind the grade together by connecting everyone. Friendships are formed through similarities, and semi is something the entire class has in common. Of course, not everyone is suddenly going to become best friends overnight because of semi, but it does provide a way to bring everyone a little bit closer by having something in common.
While I find semi really exciting, some are less excited. People say they have other extracurricular obligations around semi, think it’s cheesy, or don’t like the stress of finding dates. I understand why these things are stressful and may deter some from semi. However, in my mind, semi is overall an exciting event that is worth attending and experiencing as it brings a sense of unity to the junior class.
Semi is obviously not perfect, and I’m not picturing a night out of the movies, with every school dance cliche. However, I do think that attendance is worth it. Semi is a common thread for those in the junior class, and bring everyone together. What I can see is a night where the junior class gets to come together, get dressed up, and just spend a night with their class having fun. You don’t have to picture it as the best night of your life, just a high school experience that everyone at South shares to bring people together.
