Prom: is it too expensive? The answer is an easy one, yes. The amount of money students, and their parents, have to funnel into prom each year is ridiculously high. While prom is a great time for most high school seniors, it has become a huge expense. While there is not much that can be done in some sections, there are a few areas where the price can be reduced.

There are some aspects to prom where the price cannot be reduced through the actions of students. The price of things such as party busses, dinner, and tux rental/dress buying, are all items that students have little power over, besides discounts.

The one thing students can have a major influence over is the price of the ticket. At the school last year the price of a prom ticket was 60 dollars. Compare that number to the prices of tickets at other schools in Northern Virginia, where the tickets are closer to 15 dollars. These other, cheaper, proms are not low budget ones either; they still take place in nice hotels like the one for the school.

With one out of ten students at the school eligible for free or reduced lunch, an expensive prom makes the possibility of going to prom either a financial issue. For some it means they will not even afford to go to prom, because the combination of all the expenses proves to be too much.

This financial issue is not only there for those close to or at the poverty line, some high school seniors have to pay for all of their prom expenses by themselves. This means that working in high school at low paying jobs, which only adds to the stress of high school, as well as AP and IB exams.

What makes those prom’s less expensive than the one for the school? Fundraising. Other schools have fundraisers to lower the price of prom tickets for the senior class. No such fundraisers happen at the school, but it should be time for them to start.

One organization which could take the lead on these fundraisers is the SGA. While it is not their responsibility to have organized these possible activities in the past, they are one of the most influential clubs at the school. If they were to take the lead on this, most of the school would follow suit, especially if it meant a cheaper prom.