Something most juniors and seniors are thinking about right now is prom. Last year’s prom was cancelled, and this year’s prom will look very different because of COVID. I sat down with fellow Laurel Leaf staff member and junior social chair Dia, and asked her some questions in order to better inform everyone about the details of prom.

L: Is prom even happening?

D: Yes! 

L: Can we still bring a date?

D: The topic of bringing a date is still very up in the air. As much as we recognize that many students would love to bring a date (we want that too!!) we know that we need to adhere to safety protocols and be as safe as possible. So in summary, we’re not exactly sure yet, once we’re closer to the date we’ll have a certain answer for everyone.

L: What about wearing masks and social distancing?

D: GREAT QUESTION! Since prom is in about two months, we’re not entirely sure what the pandemic is going to look like by then. For now, we are planning for the worst possible outcomes, so everyone masked up with proper social distancing guidelines. But like I said, we aren’t sure since it’s farther in the future. With vaccines rolling out more and more everyday, we might be able to loosen these rules, but again, there won’t be any surprise if it needs to stick to the original plan.

L: Will we even be able to dance?

D: Of course! Rhodes Hall is allowing us to put our dance floor outside on the porch area, so yes we can dance the night away!!

L: Can we safely eat food at prom if we need to take off our masks?

D: This is something we’re focusing on since it is a big safety concern. We are planning to have a separate room for the catering to be set out and we originally had planned to have everyone who chooses to eat in that area. But with things being up in the air, we have talked about moving tables outside to have easier socially distanced meals. Again, this is something that can’t be fully answered as of now, but it is one of our main focuses!

L: What about parking for our student drivers?

D: There is a parking lot across the street from Rhodes and of course due to safety reasons, we will have extra security around the lot and near the entrance in case anyone needs assistance for anything. If you are being dropped off, there is an area near the side that you can easily drop students off at!

L: Is there a possibility of it getting cancelled?

D: Unless something changes, which is highly unlikely as of now, it is 100% happening.

L: What about rescheduling?

D: We’re planning to have prom on April 24. If something happens to come up, we haven’t made plans for a rescheduled date since the date is already so close to graduation.

L: Is there anything else you want to add?

D: As always, if anyone has any questions, don’t be afraid to ask me or any other junior Circle of Sisters. I know this is a topic of stress for many people since so many aspects are super unknown. It can be a bit discoursing to hear pessimistic and negative comments during the planning process. But, the junior class is working really hard to make this as enjoyable as can be for the senior class while also being as safe as possible. Always happy to help!

Hopefully this cleared up some confusion any juniors or seniors may have had about prom. Thank you so much to Dia for doing this, and an extra thank you to the junior leadership for working so hard to allow prom to happen this year!