A tri-council meeting of the Plymouth, Salem and Canton student council boards took place on March 14, 2022 to plan the 2022 prom, and many pressing problems demanded solutions.

  The Class of 2022 is the first class that is able to carry out senior events without COVID-19 restrictions, but this poses a new problem — or rather, a prom-blem; 2022 seniors have very limited knowledge on event planning, required fundraising and effective budgeting. 

“As of right now, we have over $2,000 in our budget available to be used for prom,” said Maria Hararwala, vice president and board member of the Plymouth 2022 Class Council. 

However, costs are quickly adding up. The three class councils have to consider the cost of decorations, the venue, the DJ and more. 

At the tri-council meeting on March 14, the class council advisors declared that $1,000 had been allotted for decorations. This prompted council members to consider splurging on a professional decorator who would be able to buy decorations in bulk and use their current stores of materials to decorate Laurel Manor, the massive venue to be used for prom, and cut down on other expenses rather than waste time and money in an attempt to decorate the venue themselves. 

Because of its limited budget, the 2022 Class Council is organizing numerous fundraisers. The 2022 Class Council has organized two bake sales, one held on February 24 and the other on March 10 and 11, raising over $300. 

“Other sources of funds will be the class t-shirt sale and our usual restaurant fundraisers at Mod Pizza, Canton Bubble Tea, and Chipotle. However, the main source of funds will be from prom tickets, which will most likely be priced at $50,” said Hararwala. “Given that most upperclassmen attend prom, getting money from ticket sales to fund decorations, pay for the prom venue, and other related expenses shouldn’t be a problem.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic shut schools down in March 2020, countless senior activities for the Class of 2020 — such as Senior Breakfast, Water Wars, PowderPuff and more — were canceled entirely to accommodate new health and safety restrictions.

The same festivities that were canceled entirely for the Class of 2020 were modified for the Class of 2021, taking actions such as moving prom from an indoor venue to outdoors on the football field. However, as well-intentioned as these modified events may have been, many felt as if senior festivities remained a weak replication of what they were pre-pandemic.