This school year Holly Springs High School (HSHS) will hold a post-prom party for the the first time in an effort to encourage sobriety, and keep students, and others, safe from drunk driving. HSHS Student council members wanted another way to avoid risky peer pressure that often comes from big events.
“My favorite part of prom was the after party because students can have more freedom and can hang out with more people,” said Benji Conner, Athens junior, who has been to one prom.
According to an American Automobile Association (AAA) survey of teens ages 16 to 19, published Feb., 2014, 41 percent said it was likely that they or their friends would use drugs or alcohol on prom night. Furthermore, according to the same survey, 84 percent of teens surveyed said their friends would be more likely to get behind the wheel after drinking than to call home for a ride, if they believed they would get in trouble for using alcohol.
“I think kids feel pressured to drink on prom night because high schoolers don’t really go off on our own for spring break, so it’s the one event that kids feel like it’s appropriate to drink. Also, a lot of people partake so that also makes kids think it’s ok,” said Kayleigh Ratashak, senior, who has been to two proms.
The HSHS prom after-party will be spread across the school’s cafeteria, library, two gyms and dance room. It will consist of revolving activities including bouncy houses, volleyball, cornhole, bingo, zumba, board games and dancing with karaoke.
School officials said the school-hosted after-party will lead to positive decision making. However, they still plan to have extra staff and parent support in case of students misbehaving on school property; the Holly Springs Police Department agreed to help with the event.
“I don’t think Athens students would go to a school-hosted after prom because they don’t want to be supervised. That’s why I wouldn’t want to go,” said Conner.
When students buy their $25 prom tickets at HSHS, they can sign up to go to the post-prom party. None of that money that students pay for tickets is paying for the after prom. Instead, the money for the after party will come from donations from local businesses.
“I would go if it was planned well and was fun. I have friends in Texas who go to schools that host an after prom and they’re really fun because they plan for vendors and activities and it’s like a carnival. But it would be hard to get people to go, especially if it wasn’t planned well,” said Ratashak.
This is will be the first time a Wake County school hosts a post prom party; Athens has never hosted an after party before because students typically host their own after parties at their homes for a group of friends.
And whether alcohol is allowed varies from parent to parent. A survey conducted by PEMCO Insurance found that while 51 percent of adults said parents should forbid their child from going to an after-prom party where alcohol would be present, another 20 percent gave it the thumbs up as long as the event would be chaperoned. Parents who furnish or allow underage drinking to occur are subject to civil and criminal penalties.
The student council members at HSHS say the most important goal for the after prom party is not the amount of students that go but rather creating a new trend of sobriety; that events can be fun without drinking.
“My biggest advice to students going to prom is to make sure you have a plan figured out, especially for transportation, and don’t feel pressured to stay if you’re uncomfortable with the situation,” Ratashak said.
