“Lights off! Lights off! Lights off!” echoed throughout the blisteringly, well-lit gym. After a school-wide email warned students that “the dance and all dances moving forward will be well-lit in order to ensure a more secure environment” a growing group of students exercised their First Amendment right to protest this punishment. 

Administration felt it a necessary step to curb the “acts of vandalism” stemming from homecoming and powderpuff. 

However, chants were not their only method. Instead of dancing, students sat on the floor while others played board games. A more radical move came in an attempt to turn the light switch off, but to no avail. Furthermore, students tried brokering deals with faculty, again to no avail. 

Despite these efforts the lights remained on, and the music blared on. As the football game ended, more and more students flooded the gym and ignored the protests, effectively silencing the movement.