Editorial: Prom is great, but could be improved

We’re not sure if prom really is the “most magical” night of a high schoolers life, but everyone on the Charger staff had a great time this weekend.

We love seeing everyone dressed up in dresses and tuxedos for promenade and seeing everyone pull up in the nice vehicles, or in some cases, farm equipment. The traditional dodgeball tournament, tricycle races and inflatables at after prom make everyone tired but the memories are the best.

Still, we think there are some ways prom can be improved.

The junior class tries their best to make prom amazing, but is missing multiple days of school to decorate really necessary? The idea behind having three days of set up is that every junior has a chance to go to the hall and decorate for prom. In reality, only a few juniors are allowed to leave school, while the rest stay behind in half-empty classes. We think that spending more time outside of school decorating would be less disruptive.

Sunday after prom, all juniors are expected to clean up the hall, but only a few show up every year. A great solution to this would be paying the sophomore class to clean and letting them pick and choose what they want for prom the next year. Since there are fewer sophomores at prom it would be a great way for them to fundraise.

As we sit in class three days after prom, all the attendees are still tired from ruining their sleep schedule and staying up until 3 a.m. The dance was scheduled to go until 11 p.m., but most people were out the door before 10. Starting After Prom earlier would get students home and in bed by 1 a.m. instead of 3 or 4. We know that After Prom is supposed to keep kids from partying, but after eight or nine hours of prom activities, and several more hours of prep for some people, most students will be ready for bed at 1 a.m.

There’s also a potential solution already built into district schedule. Every April features a professional development day for teachers (although this year was disrupted because of snow days). Putting that day on the Monday after prom would solve the problem of prom zombies showing up unprepared to learn.

All in all, we love prom, but we don’t think it should disrupt school for more than a week.

The editorial is the opinion of the Charger staff. Send letters to the editor to whscharger@gmail.com.