When the Student Affairs Council takes on the privilege of leading the student body, it also assumes the responsibility of fairly representing student opinion. The decision to declare the Halloween Homecoming theme without any consultation with the student body was a mistake, and SAC should change the theme to accommodate more of the students’ opinions.

According to a survey sent by The Patriot on Sept. 25, 48 percent of students are mildly or very disappointed with the choice of Halloween as the Homecoming theme. Only 20 percent are mildly or very pleased, and the rest have no opinion. This means that more than twice as many people are disappointed by the theme as satisfied by it. That is a problem.

SAC serves as an executive head, and as such, its leaders have the final say in choices such as Homecoming theme. This is what they signed up for. However, the end goal must always be the happiness of the entire student body.

SAC leadership voted between Halloween and the Great Gatsby for Homecoming theme by weighting votes based on grade level, with seniors having the most weight. The theory was that seniors should have a larger voice since it will be their final Homecoming, but this procedure prevented the entire school from being fairly represented.

Although the juniors were the most pleased with the theme out of all the classes, 83 percent of juniors would still prefer a Great Gatsby theme. Sophomores were the least pleased class overall.

Even if SAC’s goal is to cater to seniors specifically, the Halloween Homecoming theme is still a poor choice, as 75 percent of seniors would rather have a Great Gatsby theme.

Choosing the Homecoming theme without consulting the students was a mistake on SAC’s part. However, there is still time to change it. Getting more student opinion and changing the theme to match it may even give SAC more student support than before the Halloween Homecoming theme was announced.

SAC will never be able to satisfy everybody. JC students are far too diverse to all settle happily on one theme or another, but some effort should be made to address what has become a significant feeling of discontent in the student body over the Homecoming dance, which should be an event they can look forward to now and can remember fondly later.