Prom postponed due to COVID-19
Virtual celebration to be held April 18
The senior section cheers during the pep fest Feb. 14. According to senior Anna Nicholls, seniors may be able to have their last school dance in the summer, because the in-person Prom April 18 was cancelled due to COVID-19.
April 15, 2020
Although senior William Pinney believes postponing Prom was the right thing to do, he is disappointed that he will not have a normal senior Prom. Despite that, he said participating in a virtual Prom could be a unique experience.
“I was planning on going to Prom originally. I was bummed (when Prom was postponed), especially because it’s my last year. As a senior I definitely understand, everyone is in a tough time right now so better safe than sorry,” Pinney said. “I didn’t really understand how virtual Prom would work, but now that I think more about it, it would be kind of cool to tell my kids that I went to virtual Prom as a senior, so right now I’m undecided.”
In this time of social distancing, Park’s in-person Prom April 18 had to be canceled so the Student Council worked with the administration to come up with a plan for a virtual Prom, according to senior Anna Nicholls.
“I think it’s a good way to kind of understand that this is going on but we can still be together. We wanted this to say that we’re all together in a way, by doing the same thing at the same time, even though we’re not physically together. It kind of shows that if you do it (and) you want to be with your friends and be together as a school,” Nicholls said.
According to Nicholls, 7:30 p.m. April 18 students and community members are encouraged to have their own mini Prom at home.
“We want everyone to have their own dance party by themselves at their house and with their families. We just kind of wanted to get the community involved with everything. Even though we can’t be together, obviously, for Prom it’s kind of your own mini Prom,” Nicholls said.
Senior Brandon Wetterlin said he will not be attending virtual Prom because he believes Prom is about being with his classmates, which a virtual Prom will not allow for.
“I personally am not a big fan (of virtual Prom), I understand the reason why they are doing it but I feel like it’s not the same thing, especially because (at) Prom you are supposed to be spending time with people,” Wetterlin said. “If they think it would be enjoyable for them, they should totally do it, it’s just not something for me. I would rather go to the actual one.”
Junior Jae Stanberry said she will be attending virtual Prom because it is a chance to engage with her school despite being at home.
“I was disappointed because it’s something people look forward to, but then when I found out that they were doing an online one I was like ‘oh, well that’s a great alternative,’” Stanberry said.
Wetterlin said he is happy that Prom is postponed to summer, but does not believe it will feel like a regular Prom if it is not during the school year.
“It’s not the same during the summer, although I do think it’s a good thing that they are postponing it rather than canceling it,” Wetterlin said.
Nicholls said the virtual Prom is meant to commemorate the day Prom was supposed to be, but it does not rule out a postponed Prom if the COVID-19 situation allows.
“So there is still a possibility for us to have a Prom. We just don’t know. We’re thinking about maybe doing it in the summer, doing like a block party type activity if it wasn’t a set in stone Prom,” Nicholls said. “But the biggest thing is not to be so worried because there is maybe a possibility that we still will have a Prom, but we just don’t know. So that’s really hard.”
According to Stanberry, she is unsure how virtual Prom will work, but she is hoping to be able to interact with others in her community.
“I am not sure how it will work, but maybe on a platform where I will get to see other people’s outfits, or maybe it will be a chance to connect with more people who you are not close with,” Stanberry said. “I kind of want to see some teachers. I think it will be something unique for all of us so hopefully we will all be able to get something out of it.”
According to Nicholls, everyone is encouraged to share a photo or video of their virtual dance party on Instagram, tag #slpstudentcouncil and #slpwontstopdancing. Student Council will be compiling the posts to make a video commemorating Prom.
