“It takes all of us to make sure kids are safe and making good choices,” assistant principal Susan Eberhart said regarding the Homecoming dance.

Ventura High School’s Homecoming dance was hosted on Saturday, October 14 and was the second school dance of the year.

But -as school dances have for years- many students ran into problems with consuming alcohol and attending homecoming while under the influence.

Eberhart was a chaperone at Homecoming and said that, “Many people were caught under the influence at the dance which lead to consequences. When you come to a school event under the influence of anything you get a school suspension.”

The drinking incident at Homecoming caused many students to get in trouble with their sports teams. Unfortunately, a few students were even sent to the hospital for alcohol poisoning that evening.

Students also had parties after the Homecoming dance, that encouraged drinking and led to other consequences.

When Eberhart was asked whether she expected students to come to the dance under the influence of alcohol she said: “No, I did not. I think we usually have at least a couple of students who have made a poor choice that were aware of the regards to safety.”

When asked about how administration will work to prevent future alcohol related problems, Eberhart said,“We’re open to all suggestions of course, we’re really concerned with our students safety.”

Eberhart addressed that her main focus is making sure all students are safe at school dances.

“Were all students under the influence? Did we catch everyone? Of course not. And that’s sad because if you think about the kids we didn’t intercept, what if they were driving? So that’s very concerning,” Eberhart replied.

She encouraged parents to get involved in their kids lives: “I think we want parents to be actively involved and aware of what’s going on in their homes.”

For the rest of the year, ASB has three dances planned so far: Senior Ball, Sadie Hawkins and Prom.