The Palo Alto High School Associated Student Body (ASB) is making changes to beginning-of-the-year traditions and parking permit prices in hopes of better spending of their money and stronger class unity.
The freshman president and vice president have also been elected and have joined the ASB team.
The Back To School dance has been a longstanding tradition at Paly but hasn’t always been popular. This year, ASB is taking more extreme measures than in previous years by canceling the dance altogether.
“ASB has decided to save the money that we would’ve spent on the Back To School dance and use it to make our more popular dances, such as prom and homecoming, even better,” Junior class President William Zhou said.
In addition to getting rid of the Back-To-School dance, ASB is increasing parking permit prices from $80 to $120 in response to the loss of parking space to construction.
Paly’s increased parking fee is still less than the one at neighboring Gunn High School, which has charged $125 per permit for the past 10 years.
According to Zhou, ASB also made this change “to lessen the profit loss and to encourage carpooling and biking.”
Though handling money more wisely is one main goal, ASB also plans to change other school traditions. As Spirit Week approaches, ASB is no longer enforcing a maximum to the number of participants allowed in class spirit dances.
“We decided to open up the Spirit Week dances in order to boost class unity and prevent the exclusion that has happened in the past,” Zhou said. “With our new rules, we hope to encourage participation in dances while still maintaining the fun and excitement of the dances.”
Junior Vice President Eli Friedlander echoes Zhou’s enthusiasm about the change.
“I think that with the greater numbers, the synchronization aspect of the dance could look awesome,” Friedlander said. “The greater numbers has potential to be really great.”
On Aug. 29, the freshman class concluded its elections for its ASB officers. The president is Jaiveer Sandhu and the vice president is Claire Billman.
“I think they’re bringing great energy to ASB, and I’m excited to continue to get to know them,” Friedlander said.
