In order to create a junior prom that could be enjoyed by all, Student Government Class of 2024 made some changes and planned an engaging dance with a smaller budget than usual. 

Junior prom took place in the cafeteria on Saturday, April 22. In previous years, junior prom was held on a Friday night. 

Student Government Class of 2024 planned junior prom to be fun for everyone.

“We [wanted] every kid to enjoy the dance,” Student Government Class of 2024 advisor Tara Weismantel said. “I think just trying to include everyone and getting everyone excited about [the dance] [made] sure that it [felt] special.”

In an attempt to give the juniors a greater say in the dance, Student Government released a song request google form for them to fill out. According to Student Government Class of 2024 member Nicole Schulingkamp, the request form helped to make sure there was a “little bit of everything for everyone.” 

“Music is one thing we always worry about because people complain that the music wasn’t good. So we really [wanted] to make sure that the music [was] good and people [enjoyed] it,” Schulingkamp said. 

Junior Kathryn Yaglenski attended prom and particularly enjoyed the “throwback” songs. 

“‘Don’t Stop Believing’ is such a classic. ‘It’s Tricky’ by RUN DMC was a surprise and I loved it,” Yaglenski said. “I also loved the song from ‘Teen Beach Movie’, it was the best.”

The theme of prom was “A Night in the City.” 

Student Government Class of 2024 member Lauren Fisher was a part of the decorating committee. According to Fisher, Student Government put a lot of effort into decorations this year, unlike other junior proms. 

“Instead of a red carpet we got a Brooklyn Bridge so people could walk down the hallway through it,” Fisher said. “We thought it would make the night really cool instead of having people walk down a road or a red carpet.”

Student Government also incorporated a self-serve candy bar into junior prom. 

According to Student Government Class of 2024 member Kyla Shaw, the candy bar worked well with food allergies, gave people something to “take home from prom” and added to the main food pizza rolls. 

Junior Anna Stratton said that she loved all the different types of candy that were at the candy bar. 

Schulingkamp and Weismantel said that Student Government also included a photo booth at the dance this year. 

“I thought that the photo booth was probably one of the best parts of prom. I really enjoyed it,” Junior Hailey Riexinger said. “The props were super fun and the quality of the pictures was amazing.”

Shaw said that figuring out food proportion sizes was important and difficult this year as Student Government was working with a smaller budget compared to previous years. Weismantel, Shaw and Fisher explained that having no winter ball in 2022 led to a slightly smaller budget. 

“We wanted to get the most bang for our buck, because we [were] working with a smaller budget,” Schulingkamp said. This led to guidance counselor Dan Glatts DJing and video production teacher Brian Ruth taking pictures at the dance. 

Schulingkamp said that Student Government was also able to reuse some lighting equipment, and had access to Glatts’ lighting equipment as well.  

According to Student Government Class of 2024 member Layla Meehan, they planned for 400 students to attend the dance and about 400 attended. 

Meehan thinks that the Student Government Class of 2024 instagram account helped to spread information about the dance and brought people in.