By Emma Zaremba
Contributing Writer
This weekend, students will be given the chance to relax and celebrate the beginning of their final journey together as a class at Bonaventure. A long-honored tradition is bound to make its mark when it begins tonight with a rave-themed dance.
In the past, junior prom was a three-night event from Thursday to Saturday. With Thursday being a class night, various complications arose over time that made it difficult to keep the three-night schedule. The next year, the junior class office changed the schedule to two night events and a Sunday brunch.
The weekend begins with a themed party in the Rathskeller on Friday, followed by a formal dinner and dance at the Old Library on Saturday and ends with a brunch at the Old Library on Sunday morning.
The junior class officers and prom committee, as well as class advisers, have been hard at work to ensure this year’s event is memorable.
“Junior prom has been a celebration for the junior class for many years,” said Steve Kuchera, assistant director of the Center for Activities, Recreation and Leadership.
Kuchera works closely with class officers and the prom committee to organize the event.
“Overall, students are excited,” he said. “It has been a tradition for a while that gets students ready for senior year and senior events.”
Usually, prom is only organized by the junior class officers, but this year a little extra help was needed.
“Our officers are all guys, and there’s not much creativity there,” said Junun Bae, junior psychology major and class president.
In need of some unique ideas, Bae reached out to friend Juliana Stefani, a junior marketing major, and some of her roommates, hoping they would be interested in the job.
“It sounded like tons of fun,” Stefani, head of this year’s prom committee, said. “I’ve always wanted to plan a big party.”
In an effort to get more students involved, the class officers, in collaboration with the prom committee, set up a poll for students to express their opinions about different aspects of the event. The poll asked questions regarding possible food options for the brunch on Sunday.
“This is the first time the junior student government incorporated other people’s ideas,” Bae said. “In the past years, it has just been within the officers. There hasn’t really been a prom committee.”
Students showed greater interest in the coordination of their prom compared to past years. When talk of canceling the Sunday brunch spread, the student body effectively expressed its feelings and got it switched back.
“The majority of people said they wanted the brunch on Sunday, so we added it back in,” Bae said.
The leaders of this event listened to the thoughts of their peers, and tried to accommodate their requests to the best of their ability.
“A lot of people have been coming up to me with all these questions,” Stefani said. “They seem excited because it’s going to be the first time that we’ve all gotten together since freshman year orientation and the first week of school.”
Tonight in the Rathskeller, the class will kick off the weekend with a rave themed party. Stefani spoke of laser lights and a potential fog machine to set the scene.
“We have a DJ (Jomoh), who is actually a student, a junior,” Stefani said. “This will be really fun for him, because he gets to show his own class how great he is.”
On Saturday, students will have their pictures taken by “paparazzi” lined up outside the Old Library as they walk down the red carpet in formal attire.
“Photos will be posted on the Junior Prom Facebook page and will be available to everybody,” Bae said.
Sunday’s brunch allows students to wind down from the weekend’s festivities.
“It gives students time to share a funny memory, look at pictures from the past two nights and just see everyone,” said Kuchera.
At $40 a ticket, there are just over 230 students signed up. Bae said he tried to make it as cheap as possible so that people wouldn’t hesitate attending.
“I hope everyone enjoys it,” Bae said.
Class advisers, officers and the prom committee hold the same faith for this weekend. They believe it is going to be a fun time for all.
“Everyone is excited to be a group again,” Stefani said. “If everyone comes out with the mindset that ‘I’m going to go out with my classmates and have fun,’ then that’s what will happen.”
