The air is thick with anticipation. Heels clack on the school tile, boutonnieres are fastened while sitting in desks. The click and flash of a camera goes off, illuminating smiling faces. The room is filled with chatter, students gushing over each others’ outfits and wondering when the buses will be ready. It’s the night they have been waiting all four years for: prom.
Prom, which is only open to seniors and their guests, is a dance held at an outside venue. The night features DJs, photo opportunities and other activities for students to participate in.
Prom happened on Apr. 17, earlier than it has in previous years, with much of the senior class attending. While it’s only recently happened, planning for next year’s prom is already in the works. With the scope, scale and size of the event, and among changing student interests and desires, the event has been, and will continue to, adapt over time.
While it is only one night, prom planning is extensive, starting at the beginning of the school year. The event is planned by the school’s varsity club, sponsored by Janelle Hoeksema, business teacher and Maria Cotter, Special Education teacher.
“It’s first starting with a venue,” Hoeksema said. “So in the past, we had a multi-year contract with Crystal Gardens [at Navy Pier], but we can no longer have it at that location, and so part of it is just figuring out where it’s going to be and what the date is going to be.”
Working out these logistics is often the hardest part of the process, according to Hoeksema. While Crystal Gardens has closed, prom this year was still held at the Grand Akon Ballroom on Navy Pier.
“Finding the location and then determining the date that is going to work best is a lot of work,” Hoeksema said. “But after that, a lot of it is just getting the word out to the students and having the students purchase the tickets.”
Often, the venue makes a difference in the experience itself, according to Sara Lacayo, a senior who attended prom.
“I’m very grateful that we even get to have an outside location because I know a lot of schools have it in their gym,” Lacayo said. “Navy Pier was a really cool experience as my last dance. It was really different from my Homecomings, but in a good way.”
For many students, the true fun of prom lies in activities with their friends before and after the dance.
“I went to brunch and took photos before the event, and I slept over with my friends after,” Lacayo said. “It was so fun to just get ready and spend time with them for such a core high school memory.”
Brian Griffin, math teacher and former student, remembers this as being the highlight of his prom too.
“I think it was just the time with friends,” Griffin said. “You spend eight hours with them in an almost cap off your senior year, and kind of the high school experience.”.
Prom has been a key part of the senior experience for years, something that students look forward to every spring. As with all aspects of life, prom has evolved throughout the decades, but much of the core has stayed the same.
“All of the things that they’ve kind of done for the last 20 years, is what I did in high school,” Griffin said. “It was also just seniors only and I feel like it’s such a great culminating experience from your high school career. Everybody got to be together, and in a lot of ways, those parts are similar basic foundations of prom.”
One key part of the prom experience for many, especially girls, has been getting ready for prom. Many students put extra effort into their appearance, something that is appreciated by all.
“My favorite part is actually seeing the students at the dance all dressed up and being able to actually enjoy the work that we have put together,” Hoeksema said. “We’re really finding that students are excited about getting dressed up and taking pictures and going to the event.”
However, changing tastes have led to a more difficult and complicated planning process, according to Hoeksema.
“Students are not as comfortable just having a dance,” Hoeksema said. “So, in the past, it was basically a dance at Navy Pier. There was a break where students were able to go on the Ferris wheel, but there were no other activities.
To make sure Prom stays fun for seniors, the Varsity Club has come up with other things to incorporate into the evening.
“What we’re starting to see is that students are less interested in the dance part of the event and more interested in some of the other activities,” Hoeksema said. “So, we have added caricature artists, casino games, [etc], so there’s another option for students who are not interested in just dancing.”
For the first time, though, there was no school sponsored boat ride. Hoeksema explained that this was due to decreased interest on the part of the students.
“In the past, students wanted to stay out late,” Hoeksema said. “We used to have a post prom, but kids don’t want to attend anymore.The prom used to be from 7 to 11 p.m., but now it’s from 7 to 10 p.m. We’re finding that that’s the max amount of time that students really want to be at a school event.”
Some also said they believe that a part of this lack of participation is because of the way the current generation has grown up, especially surrounded by social media and smartphones. Griffin notes this subtle, yet significant, change in prom culture.
“Cell phones and technology have changed so much and I think that’s carried over into a prom where there’s people at a table, sitting on their phones, and there just wasn’t that opportunity for my generation,” Griffin said.
In his eyes, technology has often hindered the connections other students make with each other at events.
“There were a handful of people who had cell phones and no smartphones, so I think that’s changed a lot of the interaction. We just went and danced the whole time. That’s all we did.”
However, not all of the changes are bad. Griffin believes that some of the shifts in the past 20 years have made for a more fun, pressure free environment.
“There was more of an expectation of going with someone, where it seems like there’s a lot more, like, big groups, which I don’t think is bad.” Griffin said. “It takes some of the pressure off for kids who just want to go and have fun.”
Students have found going in groups with their close friends has added to their own experience too.
“It was so much more enjoyable and meaningful to have my last dance be with my best friends instead of being pressured into joining a larger group or focusing on a date,” Lacayo said. “I was able to just be a teenager.”
Griffin said he hopes kids don’t lose the magic and fun of the night as times change even more.
“The less you focus on what your peers think, then the more free you are to just enjoy and be present because you’ll hear it from all of us old people, you don’t want to look back and be like, ‘I wish I had the confidence,’” Griffin said.
Griffin said he believes being yourself is what prom is all about.
“Everybody’s not gonna all be friends. We can all live in the world together and prom is a prime example of that because if you can embrace that, then you can enjoy that experience for what it is,” Griffin said. “Just be present and everything becomes more enjoyable when you can be present in those moments.”
