Recent senior only prom decision causes disappointment
2020 seniors pose for a photo at prom in june. Project grad hosted a senior only prom last year but allowed outside guests. Photo Courtesy Morgan Haworth
March 8, 2021
Covid-19 has taken away many things from the class of 2021 and many were optimistic that prom would not be one of them. However, as prom plans are being put in place it is being added to the list of let downs from this out-of-the-ordinary year.
Last year, Project Grad hosted a senior-only prom where outside guests were allowed. This year, the prom committee, sponsored by January Batcheler, has currently decided to not allow guests in their senior-only prom, because the venue they decided on can only accommodate 120 guests.
“You can only be at half capacity, which is 125 people,” Batcheler said. “If we have staff members and a DJ there that means we can only have 120 students. We also cannot have food, and students are required to wear masks there the whole time. We also had to change the floor plan so there was less congregating.”
Many seniors like senior Lexi Miles were disappointed when they heard the news. Miles has an underclassman boyfriend that she will not be able to attend prom with.Â
“I’m disappointed and kind of mad about prom,” Miles said. “I talk to some people in my grade but I’m not close enough to “party” with them. I was going to bring my boyfriend, who is a junior, but since I can’t bring him I probably won’t go because I won’t look forward to it.”
Senior Taylor Sims does not have a significant other in a different grade but was still let down by the no dates policy.Â
“I feel like we lost a lot of loved peers our senior years to other schools, and I really wish they could come to our prom just because we all grew up together,” Sims said. “I understand they are trying to keep us safe but it’s sad knowing we’ll never have a fully normal prom.”
I feel like we lost a lot of loved peers our senior years to other schools, and I really wish they could come to our prom just because we all grew up together. I understand they are trying to keep us safe but it’s sad knowing we’ll never have a fully normal prom. — Senior Taylor Sims
In the past tickets were $50 per person which enabled many students from being able to attend. This year, the ticket prices have been lowered to $10 to ensure every senior gets the opportunity to attend.Â
“The school is taking a large loss on this event with the ticket prices being $10,” Batcheler said. “We wanted the price to not hold students back from being able to attend. We haven’t had any other dances and we wanted this one to be special.”
This year’s prom will be held at “The Venue at Willow Creek” on April 17th which is the same venue frequently used to host prom. Many students believe that the prom committee should simply choose a different venue, but the committee does not want to take this route as they will lose their deductible on the venue.Â
“We already had a deposit on this venue, because it was where we were going to have prom last year, and the deposit rolled over into this year,” Batcheler said. “That is why we did not change the venues because we’re already invested in this one.”
Many issues seniors see are not within the prom committee, but the Wyandotte County Health Department guidelines
“It’s the right way to be safe and protect the student body but I can speak for everybody when I say that we have been safe for a long time and we need a break to be safe,” Cobbs said. “I know that the WYCO Health Department has a sort of protocol that we have to follow up on, but I feel like these events are crucial to our fun in our senior year.”
