Hoscars, the annual upper school talent show that usually takes place in the weeks before Spring Break, will most likely be canceled this year, as there is no facility available to host the event.

Historically, the entire school would assemble in the gym to enjoy over an hour of entertainment by talented members of both the student body and faculty. However, as a result of construction, the gym is not a plausible option this year.

ASB Secretary Alexander Lam (12) discussed the current state-of-affairs of Hoscars.

“For the past month or so, we were trying to figure out the logistical organization for having to host Hoscars, but after talking with administration and really pushing for it, it seems that scheduling difficulties and lack of space will not allow for it to happen,” he said. “We are trying to explore some alternatives, but try not to get your hopes up because it might not happen.”

Student council and administration presented a few options in order to make Hoscars happen. Some thoughts were hosting the event in the Quad, dividing the event into two sections between the gym and Nichols, holding Hoscars in the evening at the Blackford MPR and even pre-recording all the acts before showing them on a screen. Unfortunately, these plans are seemingly not making the cut. In the words of Dean of Students, a plan for Hoscars is practically “nonexistent.”

Assistant to Directors of Activities and Business & Entrepreneurship Eric Kallbrier explained that many believe foregoing Hoscars this year would be a better option than attempting to bring the event forth in a more complicated manner.

“We opened it up for people to give potential ideas for solutions, but there weren’t any solutions that would make it an event that would live up to the standards of how much it means historically as a tradition for the school,” he said. “It seemed like the best thing to do to honor it was to not have it this year. They’re still considering some other options to make it happen, but it’s pretty late in the game.”

Additionally, there are a number of issues in scheduling Hoscars independent from a facility to host it. Most prominently, scheduling the event is posing a challenge for administration to take into consideration in selecting a date for the school-wide assembly.

Sandip Nirmel, ASB President, described the initiatives of administration.

“On Admin side, Mr. William, Mr. Keller, Ms. Alaniz and Ms. Villarreal are helping out with logistics, but they’ve gone through all the scheduling options and it doesn’t seem like we can fit [Hoscars] into the schedule,” he said. “There are different field trips and clubs like DECA that are busy at that time.”

Sandip continued to mention that, from a technological perspective in making the show happen, Mr. Vallerga and Mr. Larsen don’t believe that this event can feasibly accomplished.

Groundbreaking for the construction of the athletics and performing arts buildings took place in early May last school year.

This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on January 24, 2017.