During the cold winter seasons at Amherst Regional High School, underclassmen are given the opportunity to attend "WinterFest" if invited by an upperclassmen. This dance implies that relationships between the two age groups is socially acceptable. Both alumni and current members of the student body have stated that because of this dance, they felt sexually targeted by upperclassmen when they were freshmen at ARHS. By legal definition, upperclassmen have shown examples of pedophilia, for a child under the age of 16 cannot legally consent to sexual relations with someone over the age of 16 in the state of Massachusetts.

A simple solution to this problem is to not ban school dances from Amherst but instead make school dances inclusive of all grades (9-12) at ARHS.