Where is everyone?

Juniors fail to show up at their own prom

It is not uncommon to hear a Jones student complaining about the lack of school spirit and unity. The Class of 2018, for example, is composed of those who talk the talk but do not walk the walk, as evidenced by the small amount of students at May 19’s Junior Prom. As students danced to the music played by the DJ, security guard and coach Jarard Nathaniel, one couldn’t help but notice the overwhelmingly female, exceptionally small crowd that barely filled the venue, Room 1520. Whether it was money, lack of friends going, or just thinking they were “too cool” for this type of thing, the junior class evidently failed to muster a decent turnout for their prom.

At the end of the night, one would be hard-pressed to find an attendee who wouldn’t admit to having a great deal of fun. Even administrators were asking students where the rest of their friends were, holding their fingers to their foreheads in the shape of an ‘L’ to comment on how “lame” the people who didn’t show up were. The music was, for the most part, crowd-pleasing and fun, with students dancing and singing together the whole night. So, where was everyone else?

Out of the 200 tickets available, only 125 were sold. Anticipating them to sell out quickly, Student Government Association even went as far as to place limits on the amount of tickets that could be bought each lunch period. Some students were running to the office during their lunch periods, afraid that they wouldn’t be able to grab one in time. But it quickly became apparent that the demand was much lower than expected. A few days after tickets became available, the SGA announced that guests would be allowed in an effort to sell more. Still, sales were a flop, and up until the Thursday before the dance, class officers tried to convince students who’d decided not to go to attend.

Some students felt that the $35 ticket price was a bit hefty. Understandably, this could be seen as an unnecessary expense for some students, especially considering the other costs, such as attire. For many people, senior prom is looked forward to for all of high school as the pinnacle of their teenage years. But talk about expensive. Admission into this year’s senior prom costs $125 per ticket. Though it is common to hear students grumbling about it, the 480 tickets sold out completely. The thing is, those that chose not to go because of money have overlooked the fact that the more tickets sold for junior prom, the less senior prom will end up costing. With the venue and food generously donated, the money from ticket sales actually goes to our class funds. If more people had bought tickets to junior prom, they would have been fundraising for next year’s prom, saving everyone a bit of money overall.

Financials aside, juniors this year failed to demonstrate the school spirit that they constantly complain about. Student Government Association works hard to plan events like junior prom, and the best way to support your class is by actually showing up to dances and fundraisers in addition to pep rallies and sports games.