Prom Makes a Comeback

By Lindsay Gottlieb

Prom, the timeless tradition of American high schools where students dress up in suits and dresses to dance (and enjoy the food, which is what I'll be doing). Because prom is typically held toward the end of the school year, it serves as a celebration of all the students' accomplishments throughout their high school years, and for juniors and seniors, it's a lot of stressful work overload.
 
Prom, for seniors especially, can symbolize the beginning of the transition into their next stage of life. It may also represent, in a coming-of-age sense, the rite of passage to a beautiful dance that so many young girls dream of.
 
After Coronavirus-related restrictions devastated the past two school years in Council Rock as well as all around the country, prom is officially making its comeback for the Class of 2023 juniors, and Class of 2022 seniors.
 
The Junior Prom will be held on April 29 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Princeton, and the Senior Prom will be held on May 21 at the Crystal Tea Room in Philadelphia. 
 
After weeks of voting, the junior class has decided that their prom theme will be Garden Gala, and the senior prom theme has yet to be announced. A huge thanks to all of our fellow students and teachers who are organizing this event for us since making these events work for our juniors and seniors after COVID took Prom from four classes of CR North is no easy task.
 
The class of 2021 did have an event similar to prom, but non-affiliated with Council Rock. Seniors had their own Garden Gala, an outdoor function hosted by the students themselves.
 
You can follow Instagram accounts made by our fellow students for prom updates and pictures of your classmates' dresses. @crnjuniorprom2023 for juniors, and @crnorth2022dresses for seniors.
 
To put a twist on my usual student interviews when writing articles, I instead asked my parents about their proms, back in the 1980s. 
 
How do you think prom was different in the 1980s versus now?
 
"It's definitely more extravagant now. I did not get my hair or makeup done, and there were no such things as everyone going to one house for pre-prom pictures, you just took pictures with your date, and that was it. There was no such thing as Instagram—  if you showed up in the same dress as somebody else, then you showed up in the same dress as somebody else."
 
Following her mention of two girls potentially wearing the same dress, I asked her if that was considered a problem.
 
"Not that I remember. But dresses were short, and a lot poofier. That was the 80s" 
 
I proceeded to ask my dad the same question:
 
"The style of clothing was different. The girls were dressed like something out of Footloose, and smelled like AquaNet. Tanning was a big thing back then. Not spray tans— tanning beds, actually."
 
Thank you again to everyone who is working tirelessly to make these events happen!
 

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