WOODBURY- Prom: Something that every student looks forward to each year since the very beginning of high school. At the end of a long journey of education upperclassmen are kindly rewarded with a recognition for their hard work in the form of a dance.
But a question could come from this–should underclassmen be allowed as guests? If they just started their time in high school, should they be allowed in, or should upperclassmen have their time for themselves before graduation?
”I’ve heard from most juniors and seniors that they would be against having underclassmen at commonly upperclassmen events like prom,” said Lily Kiernan, the class president of the seniors this year. “I’ve heard from others that it’s kind of a seniority privilege that you earn by being an upperclassman. Underclassmen have other fun events like homecoming but prom is usually reserved for seniors and juniors.”
Prom is a special event for juniors and seniors, something that they have to look forward to and prepare for.
”I feel like it’s a good time to just hang out with your friends and dress up,” said Chelsea Davis, another student who’s a part of the counsel and understands the unique privilege that upperclassmen enjoy with prom. “You get to dress up and get all pretty and all that, just hang out with your friends, take cute pictures. Underclassmen can get excited and I mean, they have homecoming, but prom is just different.”
The seniors have this time to celebrate their achievements from the past four years, and juniors for the past three. With the idea of underclassmen easily getting in with an invite, It could be seen as just a free pass to get to a school dance.
”I have friends at other schools that actually don’t even allow juniors at their prom, which I find interesting,” said Kiernan. “They have two separate proms (one for juniors and one for seniors) or it’s simply exclusively a senior attended event. So having underclassmen at those proms isn’t even allowed [at neighboring schools].”
This is a new idea for students to think about, making prom an event that’s exclusively a junior and senior event. If enough of the upperclassmen find that lowerclassmen should just wait their turn, could that be a possibility in the future?
”Especially if they’re dating someone in an older grade, that’s fine,” said Davis. “But I guess when they just come to all the proms, it’s like you got a lot of proms, that’s a lot of dresses you have to buy. If they want to come and you have a date or they have a friend going there, then they should be able to have fun as well.”
Accepting the lower levels still is shown with the upperclassmen, there could be relationships or friends that want to share the time if it’s the only chance they have.
“There’s also a maturity level that comes with being a junior or senior,” said Kathryn Aseltine, 2025 class co-advisor who’s responsible for orchestrating prom’s details while she’s also a member of NHS’ English department. “You are becoming an adult and I think prom honors that you are now an adult, you can drive yourself to the event, or take a limo, and that’s something special that you’ve earned.”
In the end it’s up to the seniors and juniors to decide how they truly feel about underclassmen’s invitation to their prom. They understand that it’s a chance students only get a couple times in their school career, and that everyone wants to experience it as well.
”I personally don’t have a problem with underclassmen being brought as guests as long as they act maturely and responsibly,” said Kiernan. “I think it could be a fun memory for underclassmen to experience something like prom with upperclassmen before they graduate. However, I do feel as though underclassmen shouldn’t push to go to prom since they will have two proms throughout their upperclassmen years.”
