Paul Reiter

The Drops of Ink staff finds that it is much more appropriate for junior couples with a considerable amount of senior friends, like Nina Reiter and Max Michelotti pictured above, to attend prom.

When people think of prom, they think of expensive dresses and sharp-looking tuxedos.  They think of the high school experience and the transition to college.  But most of all, they think of it as that one senior night to remember; the one day of their high school lives to look back at years later.   But is that really how it is anymore?  With many schools implementing junior proms, and LHS encouraging juniors to go to prom, prom is no longer becoming that one-time experience.  The DOI staff believes that not only should juniors should not be included in prom, but that a junior prom should not be implemented, as prom should be an exclusive, one-time experience, unique from Homecoming or Turnabout.

While a couple of voices on staff said that it was unnecessary to keep underclassmen away from prom, as it really wouldn’t make a difference and seniors already get their exclusivity at graduation, the general consensus was that prom should be a traditional one-time experience for seniors.

It was decided that the negatives of including juniors far outweighed the positives.  Bringing them into the picture brought with it a variety of problems beyond just the seniors having to put up with juniors. Not only would it spoil the experience for juniors early, but it would introduce different couple combinations that don’t belong at prom.

If juniors are able to go, who’s to say those juniors couldn’t ask students even younger than them? If that’s allowed, then the distinguishing traits between prom and homecoming or turnabout would simply be money and location.  All class levels would simply overpay for a dance that they enjoy no exclusivity or special experience in.

While this problem has basically been solved at LHS by making juniors at prom a sort of taboo, several couples are going anyway.  It was deemed a little more acceptable by the DOI staff to go as a junior if you spend more time with the senior class, but this is only a small minority of juniors.

But how can it be actually solved?  While it is clear many members of staff would prefer eliminating juniors from prom altogether, the idea of junior prom was thrown around as well.  It has proved successful for many local schools, and DOI explored why it could work for LHS.  Not only would it provide extra space for seniors at their prom, but it lets juniors feel less restricted in who they can ask.

Unfortunately, the downsides are just as compelling.  Members of the staff found that a junior prom simply wouldn’t be worth it, as it would be too expensive on top of homecoming and turnabout.  When tickets, dresses, and suits all are hundreds of dollars, it is no secret as to why prom should be a one-time experience.

Overall, while prom is an experience technically open to juniors, it should only be a senior privilege to attend and ask anyone you please.  The inclusion of juniors would not only ruin the exclusivity of the night, but it would overcrowd it too.  Prom should be a special one-time experience, especially in regards to cost, because adding juniors, or a junior prom, makes it just another high school dance.