By Anastasha Montoya

The Junior Promenade and Senior Graduation Ball, now known as Senior’s Night, are coveted as the highlights of one’s high school life. Organized by the Batch Project Committee (BPC), with the guidance of the Assembly of Class Officers (ACO), these events act as a celebration of both students’ teenhood as individuals and the bond they share as a batch. As the pressure and excitement build from the organizing perspective, student attendees have also started to feel the building anxiety revolving around the weight of this big night. 

Teenage Dream

Growing up in the age of Hollywood movies like “High School Musical” and “A Cinderella Story,” which romanticize the dream high school experience of teenage romance and found families, it is no surprise that events like Prom and Senior’s Night have come to be so beloved for the students of the ASHS. Whether you are a junior attending your first major ball event, or a senior celebrating one last night with your batchmates before venturing into the world beyond, the bar has been set high for the organizers of each event to create a memorable evening for their batches. 

EJ Porta, the Grade 11 BPC Overall Head, shares the fundamental nature events such as these have on the formation that students acquire in their two-year stay in the ASHS. Especially as the post-pandemic batch, it is important for them to regain the memories and experiences lost during the isolation period. “Our batch hasn’t really had a ‘normal’ high school experience, and I think giving them this, just for one night, helps in making them feel like normal high school students and, you know, wala ‘yung restrictions and limitations they had during the pandemic.” 

However, with the start of detailed announcements, such as the Prom’s theme and venue, it is evident that these most-awaited events have truly become a fantasy, losing touch with the reality that some students face in their everyday lives in the ASHS. From the cost of an entrance ticket and formal attire to the over-the-top promposal gestures, prom has become somewhat of a status divide that neglects those who struggle to afford these expenses on top of the costly Atenean lifestyle. 

Realizing the financial burden these large events impose on their attendees, it is vital to realize that, like our Atenean education itself, Prom and Graduation Ball are both privileges that many take for granted. Whether it be through small negative statements about the theme proposals or the venue, many students fail to realize the spotlight they cast on superficial aspects of the event, diverting attention from the deeper realities of the event for one’s life. 

Zoe*, a scholar of the ASHS, opens up about her initial reaction to the prom announcement, which contradicted the ones of her peers, and her current anxieties about the event. “Right now, I’m not telling [my mom] that there’s a prom because I don’t want her to feel pressured na ‘Oh, [you] have to go’ kasi I know the price. It’s just like added stress; if I don’t go, I’ll feel sad, but then if I do go, after that, I’ll feel the impact of how much money I spent on one night. So right now, I’m really unsure about prom.”

While both the BPC and the Samahan ng mga Iskolar na Naglilingkod at Gumagabay, or SINAG, are collaborating to find a compromise to make this teenage dream of an event a reality, many worries and concerns still loom over the ASHS as to how a batch may be united in all aspects of the event. 

Yana, the SINAG Junior Representative, shares her distress for both herself and the scholar community as the season  of preparation starts. “I feel very excited kasi I know that the prom committee has many events and projects prepared for prom. [However,] the number one factor I am considering is the money it takes to go to prom. Since I am a scholar, very limited yung finances ko in order to afford [it], so I’m saving up for prom [and] saving up my allowance for it. So ‘yun talaga ‘yung number one factor na cinoconsider ko, if it’s suitable [for] every student. Even though [the] majority ng Ateneo ay hindi scholars, there are still people na scholars nga. Even if they are a small community, we cannot exclude them from the narrative.”

Night of Nights

As the Batch Project Committees work tirelessly to put together this momentous night, it is vital that students do not get caught up in the grandeur of the event. Instead, they should actualize the true celebration it represents for their milestones as students. Recognizing that events like these are indeed a privilege rather than a necessity in a student’s life, we must ground ourselves in appreciation for these events and ensure that this opportunity is accessible for all. 

Yana continues to share the experience SINAG has had in collaboration with the BPC to plan this event according to the needs and wishes of the student body. “Actually, in terms of the scholars, we’ve already talked to the prom committee about making discounts to make the prom more accessible, like kahit little discounts lang, it’s still a big thing. So, in terms of that, we are really okay with what the prom committee is doing kasi they’re really trying to cater the prom [so that] it is more accessible for everyone. If I were to suggest something, it would be to ensure na yung scholar’s names would remain confidential. Kasi, yun ‘yung isa sa mga pinapahalagahan namin sa SINAG, to make sure na the identity of the scholars remain hidden to ensure no one’s identity will be put at risk.”

With this, events like Prom and Senior’s Night should not be kept as a mere dream for many, but rather, a reality that embraces the needs of all. Circling back to the visions and goals the BPC has set for themselves, EJ continues to share the committee’s efforts in putting the batch’s interests, both creatively and logistically, at the forefront of the event. 

“At its core, prom is a batch project, so I want everyone in the batch to be able to attend it [and] to be able to enjoy it. And, that accessibility does not just end in a financial aspect, [but rather], it also includes people being comfortable in their own skin, what they wear, and everything during the prom. So, overall, the goal talaga is for it to be a batch project that is accessible to everyone in the batch, both financially and however they choose to express themselves.”

Ultimately, we remember that Prom and Senior’s Night are occasions made with the purpose of uniting a batch despite their differences to complete the experiences a student will hold for the rest of their life. And, while these events draw near and will eventually pass, we must continue to emphasize the integral part inclusivity plays in creating memories that are wholeheartedly for and by the students, so as to truly leave a legacy as a batch.

Names marked with an asterisk (*) are pseudonyms and were used in place for students who opted to remain anonymous.