An impactful part of anybody’s homecoming experience is the group they go in. Some people prefer a group of two, making the dance into a date night. Other people go to the dance with their very best friends. The final option is the exact opposite, wherein people compose “supergroups”, massive conglomerates of over 20 people. While some wonder why anybody would ever try to make a group that size, others look on with astonishment. Within each of these groups, is an especially complex web of conflicting opinions and conflicts of interest. It takes cooperation and skill to balance all of this, making it all the more impressive when they walk away from homecoming with only fun stories to tell. 

Senior Carson Eve has been attending dances throughout all of high school. His fun loving nature helps him to enjoy every aspect of the experience, and even including being in his 30 person group.

“I’m really excited for it, I think it’s really fun. Some people don’t but I just think that’s because they don’t go in a fun group or they don’t have fun there. They just kinda make themselves stand in a corner… you really have to just dance and have fun,” said Eve.

The most obvious problem these groups present is making everybody happy. Most groups numbering under 10 struggle with this, so quarupling this amount can seem like an insurmountable challenge. Eve considers this to be the most difficult flaw to overcome when planning.

“Making plans is always hard because there’s 30 other people’s opinions that we have to consider,” said Eve.

Senior Kate Lagis echoes this sentiment. She was put in charge of perhaps Ray-pec’s biggest group. Accompanying this job was reservations, photo planning, and even vehicle rental. To further complicate matters, her groups shifting opinions meant that plans were never truly concrete. 

“One day I woke up to 49 Groupme messages because of everyone arguing because a week before homecoming people decided we had to get a bus… there was a big argument. Just keeping communication is a big thing,” said Lagis.

Clearly, Lagis realizes the challenges associated with planning better than anyone else. Still, she’s overall very excited for the dance. Lagis understands why her friends wanted to form such a large group and agrees that it is an essential part of having the best time possible.

“I think it’s just because it’s senior year and all of us want to be together and end this year with the most fun… I think freshmen year we were still trying to figure out who our friends are and now we know. So I feel like we all just want to celebrate together and be in a big group,” said Lagis.

The supergroup trend is not just reserved for seniors. Junior Juliann Newman is in her own group of 32 people, all of whom hold unique bonds with each other. From her perspective, having a giant group was inevitable, and she holds no regrets about it.

“There’s no way of not having that many people in the group without offending people. We just have that many people we want to talk to… I like to see everybody’s personalities together,” said Newman.

If there is one thing all of the groups seem to have in common, it is that they were not forcefully shoved together. It seems that the most successful supergroups are composed of people who genuinely want to be together. And in the end, that is what homecoming is all about. Not compiling the biggest, most extravagant group, but having the best time possible, with people who sincerely care about each other. That being said, squeezing 30 people onto a party bus cannot possibly result in anything but a good time.