OPINION
As of last month, it has been announced that the end-of-the-year Candyland dance, which used to be limited to just the 8th graders, has now been opened to 7th graders. From the outside, this seems great, allowing all of Rio Norte to be part of the celebratory dance to top off the school year. However, it takes away something special for the current 8th graders.
From the very first day, students were able to purchase a Groove Pack, it was implied that the 8th graders would have an exclusive dance with their Groove Packs costing more than those of 7th graders. However, when it was announced by ASB on RioTV that the upcoming dance was open to 7th graders, it was also announced that those who bought Groove Packs would also have to pay for their ticket, no matter what. With this news, it was clear that this decision was not the original plan. Furthermore, if someone were to go into the school’s website and look at the calendar, it still shows May 30th, 2025, to be the “8th grade Dance.” As most 8th-grade Riverhawks know, the years prior didn’t include 7th graders to join the end-of-the-year dance experience. In fact, it originally was labeled an ‘8th-grade only’ dance that went along with the Grad Bash night at Universal Studios and the many other activities and food trucks provided by the school. By allowing 7th graders to join in on the end-of-the-year dance, it can further suggest and encourage ASB to let 7th graders participate in activities that were originally reserved for the 8th graders before they become high schoolers.
As much as Rio Norte and many other schools want to be progressive by being more inclusive, does inclusivity make things better? A similar example of this is participation trophies. Even though someone didn’t place in a competition, they are still given a ribbon or medal. The main argument for this is that participation trophies is the “inclusive choice,” that will promote and boost self-esteem. However, when everyone gets a souvenir for their success (even if they didn’t perform better than others), it lessens the value and significance of 1st place. This is just like how 7th graders are just now allowed to crash the end-of-the-year dance. The specialty of having something to look forward to at the end of the school year, at the end of middle school, is something the 8th graders earned. Why are 7th graders allowed to be part of the fun if they weren’t a student at Rio Norte half as long as an 8th grader? Why should someone who got last place in a tournament be up on a podium next to the person who won first place? Though including everyone sounds nice to those who didn’t do their best, it’s not always beneficial to those who did win 1st place or made it through their entire middle school years.
This last-minute decision to let 7th graders go to the end-of-year dance eliminates the value of graduating from Rio Norte and opens the opportunity for further involvement in activities that are supposed to be special for just the 8th graders. Though it is reasonable for Rio Norte to want to create a welcoming environment for every student, taking away the 8th-grade-only dance shouldn’t be the solution. Perhaps it’s worth preserving this particular event as a milestone for 8th graders.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Norte News or Rio Norte Junior High School