For more than year, a committee of juniors at Homewood-Flossmoor High School planned for the May 16, 2020, prom.
Their theme was “A Treasured Night,” knowing that students would carry the memories of prom night with them for years to come. The decorations, something with an Arabian feel, were going to transform the space with sparkling rubies and gold and splashes of tourqoise.
The disk jockey would fill the room at Chicago’s Revel Fulton Market neighborhood with the songs students had selected over the past year.
The scrumptious menu included hors d’oeuvres, a variety of salads and pasta, chicken, steak and vegetables, and of course, desserts.
Everything was on track, said teacher Matt Knoepke, who has worked with prom committees the past 10 years. The venue was selected in summer 2018, and immediately following homecoming, the prom committee went into high gear working on the theme, colors and other important details. They ordered 1,000 prom invites. Everything was on schedule.
And then, Gov. J.B. Pritzker instructed schools to close due to COVID-19 and limited gatherings to no more than 10 people.
“Everyone was really excited, but kind of on the fence” as more alerts about the coronavirus were announced, said Natalia Ojeda, one of the junior class officers serving on the prom committee. “For the most part people were looking forward to it. The virtual prom, I’m not sure.”
The H-F administration is planning a “virtual prom” for Saturday with music on WHFH Radio from 7 to 9 p.m., and activities broadcast on Viking TV, including the announcement of the prom king and queen. Plans also call for $1,000 in give-aways.
Prom won’t be the main event it was intended to be, but administrators say they are doing the best that they can under the circumstances.
For Natalia and other junior class officers Eden Mitchell, Emma Mensah and Yva Musyoka it’s something, but nothing like they’d planned. They, along with several other members of the committee, had scouted out the venue and done a food tasting. They were excited by what was to come.
“We especially, as a committee, had planned so hard for this,” said Yva. “I’m really disappointed. It’s just a big letdown. I don’t know how to explain it any better. It’s just disappointing.”
None of the four had definite plans to participate in the virtual prom.
“I think what’s keeping people from being completely sad about it is we have next year, we’re juniors. It’s not that big of a deal for us,” she added.
Eden doesn’t anticipate recreating this prom for next year. Organizing prom falls to the junior class. “I think they should get their own opportunity,” she said.
Hopefully Prom 2021 won’t have student disappointments like this year.