SAN FRANCISCO,CA- One-by-one, long black party buses rumbled onto Henry Adams Street, pouring groups of well-dressed students out of their doors like clown cars.

Woodside High School held its annual junior-senior prom on Saturday, April 22nd.  The dance is considered by many students to be the largest and most important school-run social event of the year.  But, few know the commitment and effort put into it by both students and teachers.

“We went to the event [planner’s] back in December and we talked to the event planner…         …and we basically just went to the venue, chose the theme, all on that same day and kept in touch with [the event planner],” Sydney Sullivan, Class of 2018 president and a leader of the leadership prom planning committee told the Woodside World.

This year, the prom committee tested out a number of new strategies to raise more money for the event, expanding the number of fundraisers both on and off campus.

“We fundraised a lot,” Sullivan explained.  “One big fundraiser was the Senior Sunrise, that was new this year and it was very successful.

The committee also took measures to address an issue brought up by many students and to make prom tickets more affordable.  This problem combined with an effort to sell more tickets in general, and decided to try something different.

“I had never been to prom before so I didn’t know how [ticket pricing] usually was…  …but I liked the sale,” Karina Bridgeman said emphatically, a group of friends sounding their agreement.

This year, the school offered a ten dollar price reduction on tickets during the first week of sales, hoping to convince those whose socioeconomic status made prom unaffordable for them that the dance was within their price range.  Of the over 500 students that attended the dance, many agreed that the committee had done a good job choosing the venue.

“I liked the four stories [inside the building] too and how there was the little balcony and you could watch everyone dance,” Bridgeman added.

At the dance, students gawked at the long banners hanging from four stories up, featuring a projection of a New Orleans-style mask in accordance with the Mardi Gras overall theme.

Students who had arrived both with dates and alone could often be seen swarming around the bar where servers were offering nonalcoholic beverages and employees kept tables piled with fruit well-stocked, so that students could use the chocolate fountains nearby.

“My favorite part of prom was the food and all of the treats that they [had brought out],” junior Andrew Kubica commented, adding on to the praise for the venue.  

Students came filing out of their bass-bumping buses too fast a rate and soon created a backlog of shivering, fancily-dressed teens that led out all the way to the street.  While students said the security checks seemed to move at a reasonable pace, the length of the line still kept students waiting for long periods of time.

Kubica agreed and added that he and his friends had “spent so much time waiting outside beforehand in the cold and we couldn’t even go in [because] there was such a huge line.”

While students seemed generally content, just as at other dances, the DJ’s choice in songs displeased many.

“I would like, just like [we had] for homecoming, a link where you could request songs,” senior Ryan Searcy complained, echoing another popular sentiment felt among Woodside students.

Even though not all of the students may have loved all aspects of the prom, the prom leadership committee seemed satisfied.

“I really wouldn’t change much because we were very smooth,” Sullivan admitted.  “Maybe just communicating better throughout the committee, but other than that there were no huge problems.”

While the organizers take a deep breath now that it’s over and the students put away their tuxedos and dresses, many students are already looking forward to next year.

“Carlmont has their prom at the California Academy of Sciences, which is so cool,” Searcy lamented.  “Why can’t we have ours there?”