For the first time in Hockaday history, St. Mark’s Upper Schoolers are welcome to attend winter formal (Winfo) without a date. This change was announced on Dec. 9, 2025, in the winfo reveal video that was sent to all of Upper School by the Activities Committee via email. This policy represents a shift towards inclusivity and an effort to reduce the stress and pressure around dates.
Senior Anaiya Saxena, Activities Committee chair, said that the idea was discussed after St. Mark’s homecoming, but wasn’t finalized until November.
“Ms. Culbertson told us about this in late November, but I couldn’t tell anyone,” Saxena said. “The only other people that knew were Big STUCO [Student Council].”
Student Council President Cortney Buford said that student leaders hope the policy change will inspire St. Mark’s to implement the same policy for their homecoming dance.
“This would be a way for us to make the first move and change the dynamic that has been happening,” Buford said. “I believe that if we keep persisting with it and we continue to have winfo be an open dance and set that standard, then eventually they will reciprocate.”
Because Hockaday does not host a homecoming dance, many students attend St. Mark’s homecoming. Winter formal operates in reverse, with Hockaday hosting the dance and many students inviting St. Mark’s students to attend.
Saxena said the goal is to foster a more inclusive environment between Hockaday and St. Mark’s.
“I think hopefully long term it changes St. Mark’s approach to homecoming, at least for seniors,” Saxena said. “And they [say], ‘Hockaday’s including us and we should include them.’”
Another goal of the new policy is to change the social expectations surrounding winter formal, particularly the assumption that students must attend with their homecoming date from St. Mark’s. In previous years, that expectation often shaped how students planned for the event, limiting their options and increasing pressure leading up to the dance.
“It makes it less stressful because you don’t feel like you have to take a date,” Saxena said. “It becomes a choice instead of being forced.”
Although this policy is relatively new, students are already putting it to use. Junior Lily Navitskas attended St. Mark’s homecoming but has decided to go with a Hockaday friend to Winfo instead of her homecoming date.
“It takes the pressure off because usually you feel obligated to give the date that took you to [homecoming] a ticket because otherwise they wouldn’t be able to go,” Navitskas said. “But now, they can go on their own and you can go with your friends because the boys have their own way in.”
The policy announcement came as a surprise to many students, and some were quick to notice the connection between the change and tensions around St. Mark’s homecoming.
“It kind of feels like Hockaday trying to pressure St. Mark’s to open homecoming as well,” Navitskas said.
The policy appears to have very little effect on the number of people attending based on the registration forms submitted. Buford said attendance is expected to be about the same as previous years.
Student leaders hope the policy fosters a sense of community and inclusion between St. Mark’s and Hockaday and to also do away with the unnecessary stress that surrounds the process of finding a date.
“It makes it better when you have more people,” Saxena said. “The more the merrier.”
