By Babiha Kaur, Digital Editor
In a move that is currently stirring both excitement and trepidation, River Hill High School has announced a significant revision to prom’s eligibility requirements. Underclassmen are now allowed to attend 2024’s masquerade prom on April 19!
A shocking announcement was sent out in the River Hill Canvas Community last week, sending a ripple of enthusiasm through the freshman and sophomore hallways. The goal of this new privilege, as outlined in the announcement, is to establish a more inclusive environment, allowing everyone the chance to enjoy an event once reserved only for upperclassmen.
Freshmen express their anticipation for attending this year’s prom. Alice Jones comments, “When I found out, I was thrilled! The idea of going to prom as a freshman was unimaginable before.” Many other freshmen feel the same way. Julia Johnson describes, “I’m so excited to dress up for such a formal event! Masquerade seems like such a fun theme.” Alice “won’t have to wait another two years to attend prom, which is nice.” The announcement came as a surprise to many.
Not only was the announcement exciting, but it was also unexpected. Sophomore Chloe Mills “couldn’t believe [her] eyes, and [she] had to read the announcement three times before [she] comprehended the exciting news.” Additionally, for freshman Alex Pages, this is “like a dream come true.”
The majority of sophomores, although excited, have slightly different opinions than freshmen do. Sophomore Juniper Lloyd expresses, “I’m really excited to go to prom as a sophomore, but I feel like it doesn’t make too much of a difference for me because I’m going to get the chance to go next year anyway.” This feeling is echoed by some other sophomores who are happy to attend prom this year, but also recognize the fact that they will have other chances in the coming years.
Sophomore Jonas Hoover, however, comments, “I wish that this happened last year so I could have gone to prom as a freshman, but the opportunity is still really nice.”
Juniors and seniors, on the other hand, have mixed feelings about this new privilege. Some are eager to welcome the underclassmen with open arms, while others are more reluctant to do so. Senior Amaya Arnolds is looking forward to prom because she “can make new friends with people that aren’t only juniors and seniors.” Senior Julia Brown, however, has different feelings. She describes, “I feel like prom is a special event that should only be open to upperclassmen like it’s always been. I feel like that’s definitely something that makes junior and senior year special, and adding freshmen and sophomores to the mixture might ruin the experience for upperclassmen.” Additionally, senior Jacob Lovell “doesn’t understand why the administration did this,” arguing that “freshmen and sophomores already get to go to homecoming, so they don’t need prom as well.”
Believe it or not, this is not the only new addition to this year’s prom. Guests are also allowed to bring pets, but this is strictly limited to only cats and dogs.
If a guest wishes to bring a pet, it must be on a leash and under the student’s supervision the entire time. The student also must fill out a form detailing if the pet is up to date on vaccinations to ensure the safety of other guests. The form requires a student signature, a parent signature, and must be taken to the pet’s veterinary clinic to obtain a doctor’s signature as well. Once the form is submitted to the front office, the student also needs to purchase a “Pet Ticket” for $20 so that the animal can enter the event.
Students have strong opinions on this matter. Sophomore Hailey Hebron expresses, “This is bizarre! First of all I had no idea underclassmen were going to be allowed to prom. And now I can bring a my dog! I can’t wait!” Senior Nate Bishop speculates that this will “be the highlight of [his] senior year because prom will be so unique and special.”
Overall, this year’s prom is definitely going to look a lot different. It’ll be interesting to observe how the underclassmen integrate into previously established prom traditions and it’ll be fun to watch animals dance the night away. We’ll see if the new prom will foster a stronger sense of school spirit, as the administration hopes it will.