For at least three years, the junior classes of this school have fund-raised and decorated

for prom at Washington and Lee’s exalted Evan’s Dining Hall. For $2,000, a similar price most

any other organization pays for, students have had nothing but cookies and water served from

office water coolers. Students have been forced to remove decorations, which by the way are

greatly restricted by Washington and Lee, either the night of prom or early the next morning,

presumably with a harsh hangover. The location lacked its own parking; it was all spillover then,

baby. In the past here have also been bookings available to us for a Saturday that met the usual

criteria for prom in the past. That criteria being a date which is in months with consistently

warm weather, i.e not February, and not in conflict with school activities such as AP exams or

spring break.

This year, however, W&L offered no suitable date announced an unprecedented $200 bill

for using their tablecloths. Because of these collegiate indignities and other snubs, the officers of

Class of 2017 officially made the decision to seek alternative settings for prom, after

exhaustively consulted a large swath of high school society and after many hours of careful

deliberation. The school was the only venue available this season to achieve our goals.

There were of course positive aspects to Evan’s, such as assistance with preparation and

clean up and the admittedly beautiful interior, but holding prom school also has its own benefits.

While this prom may not be in the same venue for current seniors who had to use more of

their own hard earned money to throw prom at Evan’s, they were influenced by their own

expectations and peers. It is entirely understandable that this class may feel jipped, but this junior

class also has its own expectations and peers to be influenced by.

We are all a bunch of young high school kids and our main goals, at the present time, are

generally goals are having fun and preparing for the future. These ambitions may seem

contradictory, but they do not have to be, and we should not be trying to make them so. Not

giving money to a college and using that for a senior trip or something which may benefit the

school seems a better use for the money.

It is true for many that prom is already expensive enough, with all the expectations of

tuxedo renting, dress buying, and fancy dining that is expected *must talk to dr h about how

many are approximately in poverty* The money saved in eliminating this extravagance of

holding prom at a college, which is encouraged by a society built upon adoration to the rich,

directly affects the cost of tickets.

To any who argue that prom is less meaningful for those with rural working class

backgrounds, and kids participating in more school activities, students who are typically from

higher socioeconomic backgrounds should dictate the values and norms of prom for the entire

class; Economy is inconsistent and not everybody has easy access to means.

Prom at the high school also means that we have more freedom in decorating, which

means our themes can actually be thematic. Furthermore, adjacent parking is more than enough

to hold all attendees and will save some high heelers pain if they want to keep their shoes on.

Just because prom is in the gym does not mean that the pre-prom dinners and post-prom

parties will disappear, or that the DJ will be lame. There will still be a dance floor filled with

friends and classmates, it will just be in the place that has brought us all together in the first

place.