John Flynn ’14: In a recent survey, senior and junior students voted overwhelmingly against the proposal of a school sponsored post prom. Earlier this year, the EAPA presented the idea for such a post prom to a group of school administrators, including the form deans and Geoff Wagg, Head of Upper School. Jackson Collins, dean of the Class of 2014, said that the idea was “driven by the EAPA and not the school.” He also added that the proposal would create “a space where kids can hang out after prom where they will be safe and supervised.”
Jennifer Reder, EAPA president and mother of Lindsay ’13 and Colin ‘14, explained that “the idea came up because parents and faculty are concerned about the safety of their children.” Collins reflected that the interest in this sort of plan might be a result of events that occurred after last year’s prom, but said that this was not the first year that parents had expressed a desire for a school post prom. Collins also noted that the school would of course like to make a prom that was more fun so that students would stay longer.
Reder said that the EAPA “has been to other schools in the area and other private schools to find out how they run [post proms].” Wagg explained that if the administration does decide to hold a post prom, it would not be optional. “If you go to prom, you have to also agree to go to the post prom.”
In order to gauge student interest, juniors, seniors, and their parents were sent an email containing a survey about this topic in early March. The survey included questions as to general interest of the proposal, opinions on the length and possible activities, such as a DJ, casino games, video games, a magician, and/or a fortune teller.
This survey, however, was met with strong opposition from the students; 85% of the 189 students who responded voted against the idea of having the school sponsored post prom. Tyler Haab ‘14 explained his vote, saying “I understand why the school considered it, but I don’t think it’s something they should really be involved in.” Chris Whalen ’14 added that “If they decided to hold it, nobody would come.”
Parents, however, were overwhelmingly in favor of the idea. Wagg said that “If more than 80% of parents expressed interest, we would have considered [holding a post prom],” however, only 77% voted in favor of the idea. Most parents also noted that they would not be willing to host a post prom party but many were willing to contribute more than $100 to the proposed event.
Unlike their parents, students are very much against the idea of a school sponsored event. Based on this, Wagg explained that he believes that there will not be a post prom organized by the school this year. Reder also added that they are still officially undecided as to whether it will occur. Nothing is set in stone, but if parent response grows in future years the event may become an actuality.