Trisha Hande and Yalda Rohani
Staff Reporters
16 May 2023
Vibrant balloons, upbeat music, fancy dresses, colorful masks, a joyous atmosphere, and the sounds of cheerful laughter will all be evident during Atholton’s prom this spring. A huge event coming up on May 19th, which many people have been preparing for months.
Now that prom is right around the corner, everything is starting to come together. Prom is the major event that juniors and seniors throughout the U.S. look forward to. The expectations are high, which makes the planning process important.
This year Atholton’s prom will be hosted at the Hotel at Arundel Preserve in Hanover, Maryland. Entrance tickets are 100 dollars, which includes dining, music, and a large ballroom. Other high schools in Howard County are hosting their proms at various venues. Wilde Lake is hosting their prom at the Columbia Mall, at Main Event and Centennial is hosting theirs at Martin’s West venue in Baltimore. Prom will last from 7:30-10:30 PM with arrival closing at 8:30 PM.
The SGA class of 2024, specifically president Eni Fatukasi, have a significant role in the prom organization process, with advisors’ Ms. Rangos and Mr. Mackechnie. Fatukasi said “We’re excited to go since it’s going to be our first time as juniors and we want to see how it turned out since the planning process was very interesting.” She explained how SGA, “had to start planning for prom since the beginning of the school year and had to choose a venue ASAP and book a DJ because these things sell out very quickly.”
She also shared the long process through which the masquerade theme was chosen. “We had a Raider Time meeting [where] we asked people to put out ideas. That day we came up with about ten different themes and then we took a vote. We chose the top five that people wanted.”
Ms. Rangos shared that the Hotel at Arundel Preserve was chosen as the venue for prom for numerous reasons. Firstly, because it was held there in 2019, there is a sense of familiarity with holding it there again. Secondly, Rangos shared that, “they were really good at communicating with us and they’re able to hold the amount of people that we need.” The Hotel at Arundel Preserve is closer than Baltimore, where prom was held last year. The hotel also features a “little balcony area” where students will be able to socialize outside.
Despite all the effort put into this event, there has been some frustration over the relatively high ticket price. “What people don’t really understand is that the fundraising for prom doesn’t do much. So for example, some fundraisers your classes do might raise 200, 300 dollars. The goal of fundraising is really to have money to do a lot of the senior activities,” explained Mackenchie. He added that if the money acquired through fundraisers was put towards prom, then senior activities would be a cost to students, which he believed would be more unpopular than an increased ticket price. Regardless of the price, planning such a highly anticipated event is no easy task and everyone should appreciate the people who are working towards making prom a spectacular night.
Ethan Mulcahy, a senior who attended prom last year, described his nostalgic experience at prom. “The atmosphere was great. I really liked the food, because there was a wide variety…tons to go around like it was an endless buffet. It was delicious, [with] tons of desserts. Me, personally, I like food, and also just a fun time. I still remember to this day; I liked it a lot.”
Mulcahy concluded by sharing that prom is an event he enjoyed and looks back onto fondly. He believes that prom is an important event. “You probably won’t get another chance to go…you only go to high school once.”
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