Senior prom is an event students look forward to their whole high school career. The dresses, corsages, busses and dinners are planned months in advance. What is not taken into consideration though is the price of the tickets that get students into the dance. This year though, this price might be the most grueling part of the night due to a lack of student engagement, tickets could be close to 150 dollars.
Unlike other WCHS dances including Homecoming and Glow, prom is held in a venue, this year being the Fillmore in Silver Spring, MD. While Homecoming and Glow tickets go for 10-15 dollars, countless more expenses for prom contribute to these steep prices.
“We are renting out the Fillmore which is an exclusive event venue,” WCHS Student Government Association(SGA) Vice President Krishna Gupta said. “People like Hozier performed there. They turned it into a club, and it was so much fun. We also provide food and drinks. We give out Liquid Death- you can have as many as you want. There is also a fun DJ.”
The only true way to cover expenses is through student participation, which is hard to come by at WCHS. The SGA often holds heavily promoted fundraisers and events to lower these prices but these are met with limited success.
“All of these students say they want to go to all these big, school-spirited BIG 10 schools,” WCHS teacher and class of 2025 sponsor Devona Wilson said. “But when the time comes they do not show up for their school.”
Even though students practically refuse to participate and involve themselves in these events, they are not okay with the possibility of the steep prom tickets.
“I think it is ridiculous,” WCHS senior Annika Shauf said. “Prom is already expensive enough with your dress, shoes and dinner, but factoring in these tickets makes the price go through the roof. It is starting to make the whole night stressful rather than exciting.”
Prom is one of the most anticipated, coveted events that high school students look forward to and while the ticket price has put quite a damper on the night, it must be recognized that those very students are at fault. These fundraising efforts are not new and have been present all four years of high school.
“We have done everything,” Gupta said. “We have multiple dine-out fundraisers at places like California Tortilla and Chipotle. Class T-shirt fundraisers and bake sales. We promote as much as we can on social media but still see limited participation.”
There still is hope though for this senior class. The SGA is still holding events so that students have the opportunity to do something about these prices if they are unhappy with them.
“Students can come to support their class at fundraising events if they want to get the prices down,” Gupta said. “ Come support our bake sales on the weekend! You can find out more on the SGA25 Instagram.”
