As a result of the changes to the Homecoming dance last fall such as the lights being turned on, rumors have circulated that these changes would also be implemented at prom.

According to prom sponsor Maureen Borto, however, some of these rumors are false, while some are in fact true.

The rumor causing the greatest concern among students was that the lights would be on. However, Borto said the lights will be the same as they have been at past proms.

Of the rumor regarding the theme, Borto confirmed that there will be no theme for prom this year.
“The theme would really only be on the tickets,” Borto said. “Most people would forget the theme by the time of the dance.”

Senior Elizabeth “Liz” Palmer said she isn’t upset that there is no theme this year.

“I didn’t really see a theme (last year),” Palmer said. “It didn’t really affect me.”

The budget for prom this year is also smaller than it has been in past years. According to Borto, the prom budget is based on how much money the Junior and Senior Classes made from magazine sales during their freshman year. The current Junior Class and Senior Class made less profit in their fundraisers than past classes.

Borto added that a major change to prom will be in the schedule.

According to Borto, the dance will run from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. this year as opposed to running until midnight last year. Similarly, post-prom will take place from 11:30 p.m. until 2 a.m. instead of taking place from midnight to 3 a.m. This school made the changes in order to match student attendance patterns.

“Time was changed based on post-prom as most students would leave around 2 (a.m.), ” Borto said.

Another change implemented at Homecoming was an increase in the number of supervisors and parents on the floor.

According to Borto, however, most chaperones at prom, as they have been in past years, will be school officials.

“At prom we have mainly teacher (or) administrator chaperones because it is a school-sponsored and organized event, (but) Homecoming is PTO run,” Borto said.

Additionally, there will be a new DJ at prom. As last year a senior played the music, professional DJ Mike White will select the music this year. The music will be censored according to radio censorship rules.

Because of these changes, some students, such as Palmer, have been hesitant about attending prom.

“People will definitely evaluate their decisions (on) going or not because prom is so expensive, and if it’s anything like Homecoming and its changes, then it won’t be worth the large amount of money for prom tickets for a lot of people,” Palmer said.

However, senior Sarah Wilbur said she will still attend prom because it is a different experience.

“I went to prom last year too and it was a lot of fun,” Wilbur said. “I haven’t been to Homecoming since like sophomore year since it’s not that fun anymore, but the people I went with to prom made (prom) better.”

Prom will take place on May 4 at the Fountains. Tickets went on sale Monday for $35 and can be purchased until May 3. Students will need their school IDs to purchase tickets and attend the dance. They cannot buy tickets at the door.