Tuxedos. Bow ties. Dresses. High heels. Music. Dance. It’s that time of year again. It’s time for prom, the last big dance for the seniors of the class of 2014.
On April 26th, students will gather at the World Trade Center in Dallas for a night to remember (click here for more information about tickets, scheduling, etc.). Themed “A Black and White Affair,” seniors and juniors and their dates from a wide variety of schools will come looking their best. Looking to improve on the shortcomings of last year’s prom, the student council worked to make this years prom the best in recent memory.
When asked about the changes that were made, Mason Amelotte ’14, a student council member who played a large role in planning the event, commented that, “We’re doing our best to make the decorations the best they’ve ever been….We’re going out of our way to do everything we can to make prom enjoyable.” Hoping to make this a dance that exceeds expectations, he believes that students will enjoy this prom.
Additionally, he mentioned the process of responding to the feedback from last year: “One of the complaints we had from students last year was that the music was not up to the students’ standards. We took the time to get a new DJ this year and found the best one that we thought most students would enjoy.” A key element of making this prom great was reviewing past years that were at times disappointing.
Mr. Colin Hanley, English teacher and moderator of student council, commented, “The hardest thing is to please everybody, but if the complaints or suggestions involve one thing, that’s something we can work on.” He also cited the new menu and new DJ as examples of improvements they made in the planning process. Despite the fact that each person has different tastes, they tried to avoid the mistakes that were made in the past. Amelotte mentioned “This year, we have better goals in mind than last year and better organization, so the dance should be quite a bit better.”
Both Amelotte and Hanley encouraged students to go, with Amelotte emphasizing, “This is your last big dance, this is your last big high school experience. It’s a rite of passage that everyone needs to go through. It’s something that’s fun but it’s also what you make of it. And so we’re doing everything we can to make it as enjoyable as possible.” Hanley noted that in many ways it is the last time to be truly together as a class, commenting “I think you’re friendly with guys in your class but senior year is really when you really begin to develop these deeper friendships with everyone. [Prom] is a nice end-of-year checkpoint to see how those relationships are going.”
Additionally, he mentioned that prom marks the beginning of the end of one’s time at Jesuit, one of the last opportunities to enjoy the brotherhood of the Jesuit community. He said “This is really the kick-off to ‘senior season.’ After this, it’s all downhill. You have convocation, senior games, parents’ brunch, and then the big day itself graduation. So prom is a nice way to start that transition.”
