This morning, August 17th, Benton High School sent an email to students and parents informing them that this year's homecoming dance has been cancelled. This is certainly upsetting news for students at Benton High, especially the Seniors, who also had their Junior years turned upside down for the same reason.

With the rise in COVID-19 cases in Louisiana, it's not surprising that schools and daycares are being affected seemingly left and right. This week alone, we've seen Waskom Elementary and Calvary Daycare close temporarily due to COVID-cases on campus.

Now, Benton High School is the first to take the measure of outright cancelling their 2021 Homecoming dance. Their announcement is interesting to me because it places the cancellation solely on the current guidelines in the state of Louisiana. The Homecoming cancellation letter read as following:

Due to the current CDC guidelines, and LDOH (Louisiana Department of Health) we will NOT be able to host a Homecoming dance this year, We will still have our Homecoming football game and elect a homecoming court. The Homecoming game will be Friday, September 17th."

Now, if you're a parent reading this, not just a Benton parent, but a parent of any high schooler in Louisiana, it is a little alarming for one important reason. To my knowledge, nothing under our current set of guidelines and restricts would cancel a school's homecoming dance, or any dance for that matter. Granted, I can't imagine any student looks forward to spending a Homecoming dance in a mask, but still, nothing has been announced by the state that would force high schools to cancel their Homecoming dance. Yet, Benton's announcement makes it seem like the choice was completely out of their hands.

So, do they know something we don't know? If so, will we see high schools across Louisiana cancel their upcoming Homecoming dance? Only time will tell.

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