By Johnny Gross 

Two weeks ago, Latin students came together for the homecoming dance. Orange and blue beamed from the tables of the Paris Club in the form of M&Ms and jelly beans. Perhaps more profound than the bright colors of the candy and the invigorating sound of the music was the spirit that exuded from each and every member of the Latin Upper School across our wide smiles and goofy dance moves. We were all drawn to the dance floor under a common sense of pride for the special place that is Latin.

With last year being Latin’s 125th anniversary, some worried that we had exhausted our sense of pride. However, the homecoming dance proved that the 126th year will be another groundbreaking showing of excellence, integrity, and community. Three Latin seniors—Brennan Besser, Tanya Calvin, and Gaurav Goparaju—and renowned Latin alum Alex Chapman took the stage as DJs last Saturday night. “The DJs this year added so much more energy to the audience,” said sophomore Kieran Bondy, who also attended homecoming last year. “They chose really vibrant music, and I thought it was really cool that a Latin alum came to the dance. It shows how strong the Latin community is.” Many agreed with Kieran as the dance floor was filled with Latin students from the start of the dance until the end. We were especially eager to experience the talent of Alex Chapman, a nationally recognized DJ. Alex graduated Latin in 2010 and went on to study at New York University, where he was later voted as NYU’s Future Most Notable Alumni. He has since led a very successful career in New York as a DJ. This weekend he showed us not only his talent but also that we are part of a strong, undying community.

A few hours before the homecoming dance began, Latin’s JV and varsity soccer teams triumphed over their opponents. The JV team beat Norhside 2-1, and the Varsity team beat Northside 5-0. Last year, while JV won their soccer game, the spirit of the student body was slightly dulled with a varsity loss to our rivals, the students at Francis W. Parker. Sophomore Connor Kaniewski, who was a member of the JV squad last year and is a member of the Varsity squad this year, commens, “I remember being really excited after winning our game last year, but then watching the Varsity team lose to Parker. Everyone was devastated and it sort of set the tone for the rest of the day.” This year, however, Connor said that a win from both the varsity and JV squad instilled in Latin a sense of pride and confidence that carried the Latin students through the rest of the day and night. “A lot of students and parents came to watch our soccer game, which really fueled us. We won 5-0, and everyone was super excited for us. We are, of course, really excited, too. It made the homecoming dance much more enjoyable than last year’s.

In essence, the Homecoming dance last Saturday at the Paris Club on 59 West Hubbard Street was a celebration of the vast accomplishments of the Latin community. So, as we embark on the 126th year of Latin, don’t forget to take time to celebrate the community that we are so fortunate to be a part of.