Stereotypical party scene: lampshade hats, broken furniture and stuff flying out the windows. This was not unlike the scene of the Kalahari Resort and Waterpark in the Wisconsin Dells a few weeks ago over prom weekend; a group of about 50 LHS students ran wild in the jungle-themed water park.
While the rumors of the damage have been slightly exaggerated, they are similar to the real truth. Yes, chairs were thrown off the balconies. Yes, a lamp was broken. But most of the $3,000 worth of damage was done to the two pool tables, each one costing about $1,000 to replace.
“Someone put pasta on the pool table,” said senior Madison O’Brien, whose mom paid for the groups two villas. “That got everywhere and the sauce stained the table. Some people were throwing chairs off the balcony. I don’t think a chair broke. I don’t think anything broke, maybe a lamp but other than that, the pool tables were messy. There was Coke and pasta spilled on them.”
O’Brien and her group went to the Kalahari because she went to prom her junior year and enjoyed the after party there. The plan was to enjoy the water park and then start the party in the group’s two villas, according to O’Brien.
The day started off in the water park, where no damage was done. According to O’Brien, the already disrespectful group got worse when they got to the rooms, and it was all downhill from there.
“People in our grade are disrespectful, I guess,” said O’Brien. “So when one person started making a mess, everyone joined in. They’d be throwing cheese puffs in each other’s mouths, people wouldn’t catch them and they would get stepped on. Everything together made a big mess.”
Most of the damage done was just the mess that the students made. There was food on the floor and there were empty cans everywhere but not much was broken. There were a few missing chairs and a broken lamp, according to O’Brien.
“It started getting really messy,” said O’Brien. “I think people thought ‘it is already messy, we are not getting our security deposit back, so we might as well make more of a mess.’ It got really out of hand.”
Even though there was extensive damage, the group has not faced any school punishment yet. According to LHS School Resource Officer Robert Uliks, punishment could come in the form of a ban from the senior picnic or graduation party. Since the school year is winding down, the administration will have a time crunch in deciding how to deal with the party. Nothing has been decided yet since the school is still uncovering details (and there is no tangible evidence to back up the claims). The good news for the students is that colleges will not be contacted.
The Kalahari charged O’Brien and her family the $3,000 to repair all the damages; an extra $25 from each group member paid off that bill.
