Unrealistic high school movies with teenage characters being played by actors in their mid-20s have made out your prom to be the most important night of your high school experience. While prom may be a bit overhyped in the world of Hollywood, it is certainly an event that is essential to the American high school experience.

But the Class of 2021 has yet to experience the iconic dance. As juniors last year, they planned the night to a tee only for it to be canceled as Covid 19 affected everybody everywhere. 

But an email sent to the Senior class on March 5 confirmed that there will indeed be a prom this year. However, to ensure the safety of the students and chaperones, some changes have been made to the celebration. 

Perhaps the most notable difference between this year’s prom and proms of years past is that it is open only to members of the Senior Class. Typically, all upperclassmen are invited to attend, but with social distancing in mind, the number of guests was limited to the Class of 2021. Furthermore, students will not be permitted to invite students of other schools to accompany them to the dance. This event is strictly open to Cathedral seniors. 

With social distancing being a crucial part of prom planning this year, prom moderator Mrs. Lisa Blamey was able to secure a venue with plenty of space to accommodate the entire senior class: the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. 

“We have five large indoor spaces and two large outdoor spaces, so I don’t think social distancing will be a problem,” Blamey said. To ensure such social distancing on the dance floor, Blamey explained that spaces will be marked off so students can be conscious of their proximity to other attendees. 

Other than the extra space for social distancing, there are a few other measures in place to reduce the risk of Covid 19 being spread at prom. Just like past proms, dinner will be provided to students at the venue. But to limit people’s contact with the food, dinner will be served by the facility’s staff. This way, there will not be dozens of hands using the same serving utensils and touching the food. 

One major precaution the school administration is taking is having all students who attend prom quarantine the week after, participating in school from home, except for spring sports athletes, who will be allowed to remain at home for their classes but to come to campus for games and practices. 

Blamey explains that this is mostly a preventative measure to keep from spreading the virus to other members of the school. But hopefully, with all of the guidelines in place, there will be no positive cases resulting from the event. 

While the Senior Class is rejoicing in actually getting to have a prom this year, planning an event on such short notice can be stressful. Typically, Blamey and volunteers from the Junior Class have a couple of months to organize and fundraise for the event, but since word just came that prom was going to take place, they find themselves in a time crunch to get everything in order. 

In the past, donut sales have been crucial to raising money for prom, but with limited time, this year the planning committee will rely on ticket sales to bring in the cash. However, due to the limited capacity, prom will be a less expensive event, so the lack of other fundraising should not be detrimental.

Another challenge they faced during the shortened planning process was spacing. “We have rented more spaces than we originally had planned, had prom been able to be held under normal circumstances. We have rented out three extra spaces. The outdoor venue was not a part of our original plan,” Blamey said. 

And this year, it is not the juniors planning the prom, but the Senior Class officers. “Since the juniors don’t get to attend prom and don’t get to participate in it, we thought it would be a better idea for the seniors to help plan the prom,” said Blamey. She continued, saying that “this is an opportunity for them to carry out last year’s plans.” 

As the end of the school year nears, and the seniors are getting ready to head their separate ways, prom will be an opportunity for the Class of 2021 to come together one last time before graduation. Even though not all of the traditional events have been able to take place this school year, the seniors will be ending on a high note with their first and last prom taking place on April 24.