by MaKenzie Hilling, Student Life editor
The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.
Prom season is getting closer, about a month away to be more precise, and the senior class is debating on if prom can fix their senior year. There are many different opinions on prom, but many seniors are excited to have something normal to end their last semester in high school. Although prom was officially announced only a couple weeks ago, the student body has been whispering about it the whole year. Finally, these seniors, and some lucky juniors, can feel more at peace with this high school experience at their first ever prom.
Many seniors, including Rosie Cornell (12), have high hopes for prom. She says, “I think prom is going to be really fun!” She is “so excited” to have a covid friendly dance, especially her first and last prom. Rosie continues to say, “I do think prom is one of my last hopes for senior year, other than graduation.” Feras Akileh (12) is the Vice President of the 2021 class cabinet, and he feels, “excited and nervous about getting a prom.” He explains that he, “is happy that we finally get something that is a normality for us this year.” Mr. Gerber, one of the teachers involved with the class cabinet, agrees with Rosie saying, “our seniors didn’t get a chance to go to an in person prom during their junior year, so we hope this creates a positive high school memory for them.” He also said he was excited to bring back this “important high school tradition” while still following “state and locally mandated safety measures.” Reyann Askar (12) is the President of the class cabinet and she is also “ecstatic” that prom is a go. She describes how, “this year has felt like the bare minimum of a senior year,” and that, “covid has made it super hard for us to make our last year in highschool worth the wait.” Mrs. Cote, another administrator involved with the class cabinet, says “we are open to just about anything to make this a fun experience for students.” Prom has been in every seniors mind after they lost the chance to go their junior year, so finally knowing they’re having a prom has brought a little more charisma into the 2021 class.
Although all of these seniors are excited, many have some concerns. Rosie says she, “is worried about going to prom while we’re all in, I’m afraid going all in will ruin our chance to have a dance.” Even as Bradley moves towards coming to school full time, prom stays as an end goal to remind everyone to be covid friendly. Mr. Gerber notes that he is, “confident we can do this in a way students will have fun and also feel safe.” Feras explains how the announcement for prom has gotten “mixed reviews” and that “some people don’t think it is safe to have a prom this year.” Although some people have expressed their doubts, the class cabinet members have created a covid safe environment in order to bring back memory making for this senior class. Mrs. Cote explains that, “everything about Covid is polarized and [she] imagine[s] prom will be also.” The different opinions on prom have been split between the senior class; however, the restrictions of Covid have allowed students to gain anticipation for a social event. But, Reyann has also gotten negative feedback from some students, yet she reminds them of “the safe space we are creating in order for prom to work.” She too is “somewhat concerned about covid,” but she knows, “our class cannot go back and do prom again, this dance is under specific safety guidelines in order for it to even happen.” Reyann knows that she, and her fellow classmates, will be safe from covid at prom.
Covid has wrecked a lot of things, one being every senior's final year of high school. However, prom has the ability to change the low energy throughout all schools by creating some lasting memories. So, even though it is not in the most ideal situation, these seniors will continue to fight for their final dance as high schoolers.