The LOHS 2024 prom will be held on Saturday, May 11 at Redd East Event Space in Portland in a departure from last year’s more sensible schedule. Rather than being held the weekend after AP exams as it was last year, prom is being held the weekend between AP exams, ensuring that people will be looking at their Quizlets more than their date. For all you Calculus kids, look forward to back-to-back partying and cramming for the test on Monday! Now, I don’t mean to sound overly critical of those who planned prom this year, but at the same time, I ask why? Especially when prom is meant for juniors and seniors, the two demographics that take the most AP classes, why is prom being held on the cramming weekend between AP exams? Considering that it’s being held on the second Saturday of May, the same as last year, it may be the case that the date chosen was chosen due to tradition rather than negligence. If this is the case, we need to change the tradition to accommodate our students. Faulty scheduling aside, the venue itself presents a few issues. 

Though there were some complaints last year about the prom venue, going from an art museum to a quaint but noticeably empty warehouse feels like a downgrade. Now, instead of taking photos with beautiful art, you can take photos with an enormous green machine of unknown use or function. The fact that the event space is essentially a warehouse, with high ceilings and thin walls, means you can look forward to hypothermia becoming a new fashion trend. Let’s just hope students can swipe through their Quizlets with frozen fingers!

Prom is a keystone event in the high school experience and should be able to be freely enjoyed by all. With AP exams looming over this year’s prom, many students will be unable to fully experience prom as it should be. I urge future classes to be more conscious about when prom is scheduled to prevent this situation from happening in the future.