Photo Courtesy of junior Taryn Lonsbrough
With the San Luis Obispo High School academic school year nearing to a close, higher-level students are wondering what the plans will be for the annual events that come with the territory of completing yet another grade level. One of these rituals that is recently resolved is the plan for SLOHS’s 2021 school year prom.
“We are having prom. It will be held Saturday night, May 22. It will be at Mountainbrook Church & Community Center. It will be outside…could be cold.. [SLOHS] ASB has been in contact with a DJ company and MountainBrook, a local church (they have a tent up for their church services). We were also considering renting a tent and putting it up on campus. There are some logistical issues about having an outside prom, namely a dance floor. They are very expensive to rent, and will probably be in short supply,” said ASB Adviser and social science teacher Jim Johnson.
One focal point of this tentative prom is that it would have to be held outdoors.
“Of course we want it to be a safe event. I feel pretty good about being able to provide a safe event (outside) for the students. The school district allows kids to play football, soccer and basketball, all which is close contact with each other…it seems we should allow kids to attend a dance. I just want the dance to be considered on an equal footing as athletics. There should not be a double standard. I also think if students do not feel safe or their family does not think it safe to attend, then they do not have to attend,” said Johnson.
Though some students are thrilled, especially those who have missed out on a prom in past years due to the world-wide shutdown, other students don’t think it is worth the effort to have a prom at this point in time.
“I honestly don’t see how we could have one at this point even if we wanted too. We are so restricted on what we can do that prom seems out of the question. I feel as though it would feel very separated and awkward, so might as well just not do it,” said senior Avery Noblitt.
Expressions also asked Johnson what prom would look like in terms of pandemic regulations.
“We have been calling around to other schools and districts to see what they are doing. We found out Paso Robles High School is having two proms with a max of two hundred people at each dance, but NO outside guests. A school district in San Diego is requiring a negative COVID test result within three days of their prom to be allowed into the dance. At this point we just do not know. My guess is masks would need to be worn some of the time, again not sure; some might depend on where we are on the color chart of infections,” said Johnson.
Depending on the SLO county regulations at the time, the plan for now is to prepare for a prom.
“We will allow three hundred students to attend. Priority goes to SLOHS senior students. The cost will be $30.00 per student. The Theme will be “An Evening Under the Stars”. We still have more details to work out, but we have a venue, and a DJ and a theme,” said Johnson.
SLOHS’s annual prom event will look slightly different from past years, but Johnson and the ASB team have put in the effort to create an event that will allow students, especially seniors, to have positive memories from the end of their high school careers.
