For senior Sania Khazi, deciding whether or not to attend the prom wasn’t difficult.
“This is my first and last chance at a high school prom and to dress up and take photos with my friends, so attending was a no-brainer. Even if I’m only there for a short amount of time, I don’t want to regret never experiencing it,” Khazi said.
After missing the chance to attend last year because of the pandemic, Khazi and her classmates will be able to attend prom on June 5 in the school’s courtyard, but this year’s dance will be restricted to seniors.
Previously juniors, as well students from other schools, were allowed to attend prom if they were going as the guest of a Chapel Hill High School student.
Like Khazi, senior Elisabeth Charney is also excited to attend the dance, which will take place from 5:00-9:00 p.m. with masking highly recommended but not required once students enter the courtyard.
“I’m looking forward to it just because it is finally something that our class gets to do that hasn’t been cancelled due to COVID,” Charney said.
Senior Olivia Ingledue has been to prom twice before but is still as eager as Khazi and Charney to attend this year’s dance.
“[I’m looking forward to] actually knowing everyone at prom because we’re all seniors! I was kind of a fish out of water when I went to prom freshman and sophomore year,” Ingledue said.
English teacher Jordan Kroll and Special Services teacher Dominick Barone, the faculty advisors for Junior Council, were responsible for planning prom this year—a task they had to accomplish virtually.
“The hardest part of running the council remotely was the limited opportunities for us to meet. We used to be able to grab a meeting whenever needed during lunch, but this year took much more coordinating,” Kroll said.
Barone noted that the planning the logistics of prom required flexibility.
“This year—in particular with the evolving situation of the pandemic—the plans had to evolve with it,” Barone said. “Probably the biggest challenge we faced this year was in having to adapt, but we wanted to make sure the seniors’ time is enjoyable.”
Student members of the Junior Council also felt the strain of having to plan prom online.
“Planning an event like prom takes lots of time and communication; in person we could easily meet during lunch. However, it is much harder to meet online,” member Madison Lin said.
Lin, who is a junior, had to face the challenge of planning a prom that she herself would not be allowed to attend.
“Honestly, I was slightly disappointed when I first found out that juniors could not go to prom,” Lin said. “However, I decided that I would do my best to ensure that the seniors had the best prom possible as they did not get one their junior year. I also realized that we will (hopefully) have a normal prom next year to look forward to.”
Lin isn’t the only junior who is disappointed with the restrictions on prom. Junior Claire Martin, who is dating a senior, will not be able to go as his date.
“It’s for sure unfair; it doesn’t make sense to me. I understand it’s because of COVID restrictions, yet it seems odd to allow seniors and not juniors,” Martin said.
Martin and her boyfriend will be going out to dinner instead of attending the prom.
At the end of the day, though, prom represents a return to normalcy at the tail end of the Class of 2021’s final year of high school.
“I am excited that we are able to get a prom this year when seniors last year didn’t, mostly because it’s a sign that things are returning back to normal now that more of the population is vaccinated, which is very exciting,” Khazi said.
