One of the most memorable school traditions takes form at homecoming, when each class presents a float for the entire student body. Every year, students receive a topic and each class chooses their idea.

This year, the sophomores have a solid game plan. After being given the topic ‘Culture Shock,’ the sophomore float will boast everything Egyptian. Meanwhile, the freshman chose French, the juniors’ float will symbolize all things Pacific, and the seniors will represent Chinese.

“I was so glad when we chose Egyptian,” Abby Shoettler said. “Egyptian mythology interests me the most, and there is a lot of culture that we can incorporate on the float. We were able to use a lot of things.”

While the sophomores’ culture was chosen during a meeting, heated arguments broke out between the students. Though Shoettler finds excitement at the prospect of painting cardboard pyramids, other students initially disagreed with the choice.

“At first, I didn’t want Egyptian,” Anthony Johnson said. “My idea was African. When I found out that the culture we had chosen was Egyptian, I wasn’t sure how it would go.”

As homecoming night creeps closer, the stress becomes a natural occurrence when building a float. Accidents happen when backdrops need to be repainted, and different ideas often cause dissention between comrades.

“One of the biggest problems is miscommunication,” Janae Keys-Bramlett said. “Everybody’s not always working together as much as they could. People start doing things without knowing how it’s going to end up.”

The constant worry of the float not being prepared looms over the head of the volunteers, even though the ’09 class defeated the juniors at homecoming last year, when each class had to choose from ‘Classic Movies.’

“Making a float is hard, but it’s a lot of fun,” Brittany Shaffer said. “The hardest part is figuring out what we want to do. A lot of people live far away, too, so it’s kind of difficult to get a ride, but it’s still going better than I thought. I just hope we beat the senior class this year.”

The floats will be presented during the home football game against Tranquillity on Oct. 6 at Clark Intermediate. To receive directions to the work area for the sophomore float, contact Shoettler or any student leadership representatives.