By Jenna Vespi, Jamie Boeheim, and Mia Potamianos
Staff Writers
Jamesville-DeWitt High School’s “Great Gatsby” themed junior prom will take place May 9 from 7-10 pm in the Auxiliary Gym. This year, prom ends an hour earlier than previous years. According to junior class adviser and science teacher Amy Boettger, they changed the end time because most people have already left prom and are on to their after parties by 10:30 p.m. so ending early should not make a big difference. Tickets are on sale to juniors and their dates for $40 from April 27 through May 1. On May 4 the price increases by $5, and they will be available at the door for $50.
A variety of food, from chicken fingers to pizza bites, will be available at prom. “Everyone will have enough to eat a full meal,” said Ms. Boettger. At prom DJ James Wannamaker with WannaJam Productions will provide music to dance to, as well as great lighting effects. “He’ll have (lights) that go with our theme so we like him as a DJ,” said Ms. Boettger. His company also provides a photo booth which is included in the price of a ticket. “Photobooth is key,” said Ms. Boettger. With a photobooth students will have multiple chances to get photos with friends, teachers, and their dates, rather than having to bring a separate check for a photographer who will only take one picture with you and a date. And the photo booth is equipped with many props such as feathered boas and entertaining hats.
The junior class officers, Chloe Hayward, Kate Norton, Afua Addo, Teresa Werbowsky, Connor Evans, Jamie St. Amour, Grayson Burns, and Maddy VanHusen chose “The Great Gatsby” as the theme in part because they read the book junior year. “We were just thinking of a ton of different things that would be kind of ‘Hollywood-ish’ and kind of “Club-ish’. But the Great Gatsby just seems more ‘classy’ and ‘older’,” said Hayward.
One of the many things that makes prom season so thrilling is how people get asked. Junior Connor Flanagan sticky noted “prom?” all over junior Carly O’Hern’s car and was waiting next to it with a Chipotle burrito. Many guys think of clever ways to ask a girl to prom like Flanagan, and refer to them as “promposals.” Hayward was surprised by junior Elias Gantos at his house with candy and flowers. Junior Melissa Murphy was asked by a junior foreign exchange student from France, Germain Le Gallic by “(junior) Dean Kousmanidis texted me saying someone hit my mailbox so I went outside and Dean was parked in my driveway. Then, I saw Germain was ‘chillin’ behind his car with croissants, flowers, and a flag that said, “Melissa, will you take the french kid to prom?”.
Every year there is controversy over whether other classes should be able to go. “I think if guys aren’t dating a girl from another grade, they should try to ask other juniors, because it is specifically their prom so the junior girls should have dates first,” said O’Hern. Like O’Hern, some believe juniors should have priority over underclassmen. However, senior Brian Cieplicki thinks, “you should be able to take whoever you want.”
Freshman Payton Riley is attending prom this year with junior Patrick Gilson and hopes it will be fun. Riley said she feels intimidated by the other juniors but that, “it won’t be weird without my (underclassmen) friends there because I have friends who are juniors.” O’Hern also went to prom as a freshman with class of 2014 alumnus Max Havens and as a sophomore with Cieplicki. “I felt awkward but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be,” said O’hern. She thinks this year prom will be a lot better, because she will have all of her friends with her.
Another exciting part about prom season is, of course, picking out a dress. Riley is wearing a strapless grey dress, O’Hern is wearing coral dress with lace on the top and flowy at the bottom, Murphy is wearing a pink dress with key-hole back that is long waisted and flows to the floor, junior Samantha Leavitt is wearing a strapless light pink dress, and junior Kate Norton is wearing a two-piece black dress with a beaded top and the back of the top is open. There are many different styled dresses and this year will be very exciting to see the variety of dresses.