Staples continues to bring back  many opportunities for students that were canceled last school year due to the pandemic. We are back to a 100% in-person student life with very little mitigation; all sports are back and have normal seasons; and most, if not all, after-school activities are back. It finally seems like Staples is getting back to normal. 

Red and Whites is a dance for the senior class with several other schools in the county. It’s a fun tradition that was stripped away from the seniors last year due to the pandemic. While it is understandable why Red and White was canceled last year since the pandemic was still new to us, the pandemic is now manageable on a local level, meaning that the dances shouldn’t have been canceled this year. 

A lot of things have happened within the community since Red and Whites 2021 was canceled such as a senior prom in the spring, fans in attendance at games once again and the senior class also having a Homecoming dance. Each of these have been big successes. 

All of this was possible due to how well Westport handled the virus, the low number of reported cases and the vaccination rate among students and faculty within Westport. 

Of course, Red and Whites will likely never completely return to the way it was before the pandemic.  However,that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have a version of the dance with pandemic accommodations factored into it.

But given that it is actually cancelled, I believe it should become a Staples-only dance, much like Homecoming, during the late winter. While it would not be the real thing, it would provide the senior class with another dance to fill the voids. 

The senior class has been robbed of Counties and a Junior Prom, so I think it’s only fair that we, as a collective Staples community,  try to continue the traditions that seniors typically get.There is still time for a plan to be developed and for Westport’s COVID-19 status to improve.  There should still be a possibility of a dance for the senior class this year.