On social media, homecoming is portrayed as a fun day where you dress up with your friends, take pictures, and get a good dinner. But in reality, homecoming, HOCO for short, can be a stressful time of planning the who, what, when, and where. 

For Tyler McInnis, junior, the most stressful part of homecoming is finding a dress. 

“You have to make sure the dress fits, and that there are enough dresses left, so you don’t get the same one as someone else,” said McInnis.

Every year many people are doing multiple groups, which adds to the stress. Grace Stauffenker, senior, said, “I’m doing two groups. The first group, there’s probably about 20 of us, but the second group, we’re still planning, but there’s about eight,”

With two groups, you preferably have to make sure that you have two different locations for pictures and dinners, and try to make sure they are two different experiences.

Something new this year for Leesville is the semi-formal homecoming dance that Leesville’s Executive Council is putting together. The dances in the past have been right after the HOCO football game, a come-as-you-are dance. This year, the dance is on the Saturday after the football game, October 11, 2025.

There have been mixed reviews on the dances in the past, making people skeptical about this year’s semi-formal dance.

“I’ve been to the dances in the past, but that’s only because my [cheer] coach forced us to. As of right now, I am not going to the dance,” said Sydney Champion, junior.

Students are excited for the 2025 Leesville homecoming, but they have a lot of work to do to make it special.

Madeline Gransden, staff writer

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