A speaker blares the song Party Rock Anthem in the dark as students dance with their arms in the air to the beat of the song. With only a week left to prepare for JROTC’s annual military ball, cadets practice their etiquette and dance moves. Like each year, the formal dance will be taken place on March 15, the first day of spring break.

“For PT [physical training] we have been dancing for the military ball,” junior Alexandra Carroll said. “It’s my first year going so I’m not sure how everything’s going to go, but I’m super excited to dance with all my friends and just have a great time.”

There are traditions and guidelines that must be followed. One tradition includes each senior contributing to the ‘grog bowl’ by bringing one odd liquid of choice. The students who drink out of the concoction the day of the dance, must put one quarter in.

“A big tradition is called the grog bowl,” senior Gauge Nye said. “If you do anything that’s frowned upon you have to drink from it. The seniors put a bunch of nasty stuff like pickle juice and tomato sauce and it does not taste good at all.”

COC (chain of command) are upperclassmen and are the ones that put together the dance with the help of Colonel John Lubbers and Master sergeant Louis Beldotti. It is a team effort to make sure everything is completed on time.

“We want to figure out the best place to go, the food, and the gift to give for the guests,” senior Jessica Blaile said. “We balance out what part everyone gets to make sure not one person is doing too much.”

Some jobs that were handed to students were difficult to execute, but with every single cadet helping, the outcome will be worth it in the end.

“Getting the door prizes for the guests was rough,” senior Jonathan Rutland said. “You have to go to different places to get donations and they’ll say yes or no we can’t. It was not the smoothest process, but I’m sure everyone’s going to have a fun memorable time.”