Prom brings about nostalgia, provides end-of-year celebration
Seniors Yaseen Qureshi and Myra Malkic eat ice cream on top of the photo wall, which was organized by Student Council so that seniors could commemorate their time at Lab.
June 5, 2023
Star-shaped balloons, rainbow LED lights and piles of poofy cloudlike fluff filled the room as seniors with their dates and friends walked into The Study Hotel at the University of Chicago on Saturday, June 3, to celebrate their “Moonlit Memories”-themed prom.
The dance, an honorary event for the seniors, provided an opportunity for the grade to spend time together and enjoy a final dance to celebrate the end of high school.
Senior Blake Dunkley thought the event was a nice way to cap off the year.
“It was good to see all my friends,” he said. “It was really exciting because it’s one of the last few times you get to see everybody in the same place.”
In place of a traditional dinner were heavy hors d’oeuvres, which included vegetable samosas, beef franks in a blanket, beef sliders, vegetable spring rolls, crispy panko chicken and cheddar gougères. Outside, students could choose from a variety of ice cream for dessert. Drinks offered included Shirley Temples, Sprite, Coca-Cola and sparkling water.
In addition to the dining room and dance floor, there were other areas around the venue where students enjoyed the night. This included a card-signing area where guests could write short notes about their peers, a photo booth with silly props, and a picture wall on the outside patio with baby pictures of the seniors.
Toward the end of the night the group watched a slideshow of the grade with pictures spanning from nursery school to this year alongside a student musical accompaniment.
Senior Class president Sydney Tyler, a member of the prom committee, said the committee chose the photos and cards to make the experience more individualized and better aligned with the theme.
“We wanted it to be nostalgic for people and just something unique,” she said. “We wanted something that is really personal to our grade, because we’ve just been with each other for so long.”
Blake said the general student outlook on prom is different from other school dances, given that it’s the seniors’ last.
“People kind of stay and appreciate everything before the year ends,” Blake said. “It’s a little different because it has a purpose, a reason behind it.”
Sydney said that overall she thinks it was successful and that students had a good time.
“I thought it went really well,” she said. “A lot of people were really surprised and happy that they were able to see so many fun memories.”
Friend groups gathered at the cloudlike, fluff-strewn dance floor for a final round of dancing, jumping and singing as the DJ turned the music up. They danced the night away and came together, enjoying each other’s company one last time.
