Getting clear on senior year
By Rachel Levin, Copy Editor
Currently, prom for seniors is planned for 7:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on June 5, with graduation five days later on the 9 and 10. The consensus at the moment among seniors seems to be that, although this year's prom will be awkward and underwhelming, the fact that there will be one at all is a relief.
“My mom asked, ‘would you be happy with your graduation if the whole school wasn’t there?’ And I said, ‘I’m just happy to have a graduation,” Alex Homami (’21) said.
As the 2020-2021 school year winds to a close, traditional end of the year events have begun popping up as potential in-person events. A survey was sent around to be filled out by April 30 asking whether seniors would attend a prom. Depending on how many people plan to show up, there could be up to three separate stages, in the sentenniel quad, the History quad and on the basketball courts. Currently 67 percent of surveyed seniors have said they would attend, so two stages is the most likely outcome. There is also a potential for couples to only dance with each other. This brings up a host of complications, some of which being, what if someone doesn’t have a date? Or, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of a party among all the seniors? Seniors who would be going alone or with friends, don’t love the idea.
“I’m most likely gonna be going stag, so I’m thinking that if I don’t have another person to be a couple with, what am I gonna do?,” Mandy Wolf (’21) said.
Tickets for prom will be on sale all school days from May 19 to June 3 for $65.
Graduation has had to be similarly modified to comply with COVID-19 regulations. The plan, at the moment, is to have two different graduations, on June 9 and 10, in order to have people be six feet apart. It would be livestreamed for people who could not make it, but again, this takes away the traditional spirit of the event. People might not get to walk the Greeks with their friends, if they are placed in separate groups.
“I feel like I don’t know how well the system’s gonna work. I wanna be with friends,” Amy Graves (’21) said.
Most other events are continuing as they usually do. Commitment week will run from May 4 to May 7 in person during lunch at the College and Career Center, but student IDs and a ticket are required. Senior awards will happen on an asynchronous day, May 26, when only seniors will be allowed on campus, no parents. Grad night and a few other typical end of the year events are also pending, as staff and parents are planning them, but they have not yet been approved by the city.
These volunteers and Samo staff are working hard to get things back to how they have been in past years, but this is a difficult year. Often not everyone is appeased.
“People have to make decisions. Everything is what it is this year, nothing is ideal,” Principal Dr. Antonio Shelton said.
Still, as with all compromises during pandemic school, most seniors are ready to settle with whatever they can get.
“I got a prom dress I need to wear. I’m hoping it will be fun,” Dixie Lovett (’21) said.
