BY MICHAEL GENECIN
Rumors began circulating early in the school year about the possible cancelling of the traditional Junior Prom. Many juniors became angered by the news that the administration could do this without any student input. As a result, many students have voiced complaints to student council members and their guidance counselors, though no decision has been made yet.
On Sept. 13, at the first student council meeting of the year, representative Michael Salko ’13 mentioned the rumors surrounding Junior Prom when he introduced himself. Sarah Campbell ’13 said that she was hoping for more communication between the student government and the student body. Murmurs of agreement followed both statements; however, Junior Prom was dismissed as a seemingly unimportant issue to be discussed at a later meeting.
At a junior class student council meeting on Sept. 20, principal Elizabeth Clain began a presentation to the representatives by stating that she has not yet made any kind of decision, but that it is certainly something that the students themselves must think about. “I, too, hold very dearly, traditions that we have at Mamaroneck High School,” she said. “However, sometimes traditions need to change.”
The meeting was an opportunity for the student council to discuss the problems that Clain and other members of the administration see regarding Junior Prom. “Personally, my ideal [Junior] prom is that there is no Junior Prom,” said Clain. “And, I could at any moment say ‘no prom,’ but I’m not going to do that.” Instead, Clain started a discussion that has previously been absent.
Clain began her presentation by posing a question: “What are the values that we, the Mamaroneck/Larchmont Community, think are important?” The student council representatives responded with answers including diversity, equality and fairness, among others.
Clain then presented the three main issues that accompany Junior Prom that, in her opinion, do not necessarily match up with the values that students claim to hold. The first issue was equity. Clain explained that 12% of students in the high school come from families below the poverty level and the price of prom tickets excludes most of these students. She explained that not only has the ticket been too expensive in past years, but the pressure to spend even more money on formal dress adds to this exclusion. Clain also noted that the timing of the event as well as the accompanied social pressure has made the Junior Prom an unpleasant experience for some at an already stressful time of year.
After the presentation, student council members discussed possible solutions to the issues of equity, timing and social pressures. Clain presented the possibility of a more casual dance without the name “Prom” in which students could wear “jeans and a nice shirt,” because she feels that such a change would drastically lower the social pressure. However, most junior class representatives did not look favorably upon this idea. Juliet Strauss ’13, for example, said that that juniors view prom as a time to dress up and a more informal dance would not generate the same excitement. “The whole hype is pre-prom,” she added.
The juniors present at the meeting expressed a willingness to change the prom but a strong desire to maintain the formality of the event. Phillips said, “Why does our class have to suffer when all the other grades before us got it? I feel like we are getting the short end of the stick.” She added, “It has always been fun to look at other people’s prom pictures and now no one will look at ours.” She also believes that if it is cancelled, students will be “up in arms,” signing petitions and trying to get Junior Prom back. Instead of changing the traditionally fundamental aspects of Junior Prom, representatives voiced ideas such as moving the location or moving it to sometime in the winter.
Clain made one thing clear: it is a decision that must be made by the students themselves. “You have to make this decision… I’m not going to make it for you,” she said. She explained that if the class were to work together and try to be fair, she would be able to discuss it in the graduation speech for the class of 2013, saying that the grade was brave enough to step up and solve an unfair issue. If not, she said, “I will wait for a class that is brave enough to change this.”
Carol Scheffler, the Student Activities Coordinator, suggested other approaches to solving the disagreement. She suggested that the Junior Prom change location and not serve dinner in order to cut costs, saying that holding it in a hotel is unnecessary and most students dislike the food anyway. Scheffler also said that she did not know exactly how long Mamaroneck High School has had a junior prom but it has definitely been around for the ten years that she has been involved with the school system. While she understands the appeal that the word “prom” holds, she feels that the make-up of the event could certainly benefit from some adjustments.
Students who have already experienced Junior Prom have varying opinions on the matter. Nicole Strausser ’12 agrees with Clain. After planning and attending last year’s junior prom, she feels that it is not at all a necessary event. “Upon entering junior year, I was really excited about prom,” she explains. “However, looking back on it, it was way too time consuming.” Other current seniors agree with Strausser. She added, “I feel that there should definitely be a junior bonding event, but prom is just a waste of money and time!” Still, many junior student council members believe that changing the prom based on others’ notions of it from previous years is unfair. Representative Sarah Phillips ‘13 believes that it has been around for so long that it cannot be cut because some don’t enjoy it. “We should be able to decide for ourselves. J-prom has always been something we’ve looked forward to, but now it might not happen,” she said. During the meeting, Salko was adamant about keeping Junior Prom in place. “Although you did experience people saying that they didn’t like it, the amount of outcry we [student council members] have experienced shows that people really do want it.” Perhaps more members of the junior class agree with Clain than are willing to say at this time.
As for the actual decision, it is still up in the air. At the end of the student council meeting, the representatives and advisors decided that the most fair solution would be to give a similar presentation to the entire junior class and let them decide by vote. Clain agreed. “We should be out front with this,” said Clain.
