As the end of the year events approach, such as graduation, field trips and finals, a
constant question occurs: should Woodland bring back junior prom? Prom has been a tradition
with many schools, including Woodland for both juniors and seniors; however, Woodland made
the decision a few years ago to take away the junior prom, which left many disappointed, while
leaving others relieved.

Some of our Woodland students have shared their thoughts on whether or not prom
should come back for the juniors, giving a mix of opinions. “I would not want a junior prom just
because we would have to fundraise a lot more and as a senior next year I would not want to
share my prom with juniors. I feel like if we did do them, there should be different proms so it
wouldn’t take away the special aspect of it for seniors,” Junior student, Abbie Raffone stated.

Senior, Liv Schwenger, shared similar sentiments regarding a special event for seniors,
but also reflected that juniors should have an event. “I think that if there were to be a junior prom
it would have to be small because classes always work on saving money for senior prom so the
junior one would be less of an event,” Schwenger stated.

“I believe that it is fair for the seniors as long as it is a different dance. Seniors save up
the money for their senior prom and it is more fun when it is just your class,” Senior, Jamie
Schaffer weighed in as well stating, “I think junior prom is a good idea and it’s fair because it
gives juniors another opportunity to do something fun with their class. Yes, I do wish it was
something I could’ve done when I was a junior but that shouldn’t take away the fun for future
junior classes.”

Even with the controversial opinions, there are juniors and seniors alike including Schaffer, who
believe juniors should have the opportunity to participate in prom. With that being said, they also
believe junior prom should be held to lower standards like being held in the courtyard and not
being given dinner because it might be hard to fund for a nice facility two years in a row. Juniors
can have the opportunity to celebrate as a class, while saving senior prom as the big event.

Still there are the opposing opinions such as that of junior, Emily Ambroscio who states “I
personally would not want to share my prom with juniors as a senior. I feel like it should be just
between seniors and it’s not really fair to them. The time will come for juniors; they’re gonna
have a prom no matter what and I feel like prom should be something between that individual
grade.”

The resounding opinion is that if they were to bring back a junior prom, to keep it a more
low-key event and keep it class based. This would keep it cost effective, yet still something to
look forward to. In keeping it separate, it still leaves the senior prom as the big event to look forward to, and a night to remember as seniors taking one last night together before heading into
the future.