For many juniors and seniors, prom is one of the most anticipated events of the school year. Everyone spends the months leading up to the dance finding something to wear, pulling together a group, and making dinner reservations.
In the last few weeks, rumors have been spreading throughout the student body that there won’t be a prom this year because no one has been showing up to prom committee. “I don’t know where [concerns of not having a prom] came from, that was never a concern that either of us had,” said assistant principal Britt Hanford.
“This year looks different because we waited to start advertising the meetings,” Hanford said, going on to explain that prom committee usually begins gathering in late November. This year was different because of the Goat Game, and the fact that so many people were involved in making it happen—prom committee didn’t want to have to compete.
“I don’t know if I’m accurate in saying this, but it felt to me [that] after the Goat Game students were just kind of tired,” Hanford said. “They maybe needed a bit of a break from organizing and trying to execute something.”
These “no prom” rumors began to spread because of the increase in advertising for the prom committee after the Goat Game wrapped up. “The reality is that it would be kind of weird if no one was coming to the committee meetings and it was just left up to [Heather] Cheney and I to plan it…That wouldn’t be fun for you guys I think,” Hanford said.
Hanford said planning for prom usually starts almost the day after the previous years’ prom, because that’s when she and Cheney book The Wilma for the next year. “We have a venue, we have a DJ, so by the time we really get into the actual planning with the committee the first thing we do is pick a theme and that really kind of informs every decision we make up until the actual date,” Hanford said.
Luckily, after a good amount of advertising—and probably due to the intensifying of these rumors—around ten people showed up to prom committee and got the ball rolling for planning the dance. One of the most exciting steps to take in planning the dance is picking the theme, which prom committee recently voted on; “Vegas” ended up being the winner. This year, prom will be held on May 2, so students can start planning for that.
Hanford said students can expect that ticket prices will be around the same as previous years, as the budget has mostly stayed the same. She noted, “We try to keep our ticket prices as low as possible.”
“It’s enough money for us to have a nice budget so that we can buy cool stuff and that’s kind of the cycle of prom money,” said Hanford.
