The final act: Mr. Buena’s cancellation after 12 years
THAT’S A WRAP. What once was filled with misters every December is now an empty stage with the memories of what was Mr. Buena after administrators cancelled it. “We wanted to put events on the calendar of activities that were as wide reaching to as many students.” McNutt said.
December 16, 2021
After 12 years of Mr. Buena performances, administrators have made the final decision to cancel the competition in favor of events that are more meaningful for a larger number of people. Mr. Buena was originally started in 2009 by former math teacher Anne McGavren with the Renaissance class in order to get the funds to pay for the Renaissance T-shirts.
Earlier in the school year a discussion was held between assistant principal Scott McNutt, ASB advisor Madeleine Wilkowske, principal Audrey Asplund and the ASB classes to cast a vision for the 2021/2022 school year and determine which events were going to appear on the official events calendar. This was a particularly important conversation as many students returned to campus for the first time in over a year due to distance learning.
Ultimately, Mr. Buena was cancelled due to focus on events that appear to a “Wider-cross section of the student population,” McNutt said.
When getting the position for ASB adviser, Wilkowske looked over events and went to administration with the ones they wanted to do this year. From there they narrowed them down and picked the calendar.
“When we looked at Mr. Buena, as being a possibility for this year, the administration, and myself, we came up with the decision that with COVID having such an effect on kids being involved and being able to do [events] at school, it was one that we didn’t feel would necessarily reach as many students,” Wilkowske said.
Discussions of a talent show were also in the mix along with a winter formal dance. ASB progressed with winter formal and are now renaming it to the New Years bash because of the movement on the calendar.
“There was going to be an event on the calendar, somewhere in that neighborhood,” McNutt said. “It’s student driven, if the students had a passion for going in a different direction, we would listen to that too. There was excitement from the New Years bash and that is more in line with our vision for something that extends to the greater Buena community.”
Senior and ASB president Ella Haas expressed her condolences to the news of the cancellation of Mr. Buena but remains hopeful for future school events.
“It’s sad to see a tradition that I know, that I enjoy watching, be gone, but there [are] reasons that it got taken away,” Haas said. “I understand that, I am upset, but there are going to be bigger and better things that Buena is going to do anyway. So we are just making room for that.”
However, just because Mr. Buena is gone this year, McNutt will “never say never,” to the possibility of it returning.
“I’m not saying Mr. Buena is coming back next year but we are a team and always want to listen to the students, always want to talk to our principal, and our ASB director,” McNutt said. “If that is something that is a tradition that wants to be brought back, that is a conversation that would be had among the students in ASB and then the leadership team of the school.”
Along with this, Asplund, Wilkowske, and ASB students are open to talking about the idea of Mr. Buena.
“We are all open to talk about it and if they would like to speak to me more about it then they can shoot me an email, come up to me in the quad. We’ll make some time,” McNutt said.
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