Planning for CHS’s prom is underway, and decisions are being made with gusto. At lunch on Mondays in room 220, students lead conversations around prom details, including food selection, prom theme and color palettes. The prom planning committee chose the theme, “Masquerade,” early in the process to make the rest of the decisions easier. “We were able to figure out our theme on day one, and then we were able to completely start working on color planning and decorations on day one,” said committee co-planner Ebie Lamb. “Two years ago, it took them like four weeks to figure out a theme, and by then they were panicking.”

Lamb explains that the committee is doing stupendously well on time and money. They have all of their favors and decorations planned and still have $500 left after losing half of their original budget. “We’re going to go to the dollar store the week before prom and buy tablecloths, flower vases and stuff,” Lamb said. ”It’s awesome because there’s so much money to spend.”

The decision-making process is, for the most part, democratic. Amy Boeving, a member of the committee, explained how the theme was chosen: “Ebie had made a set slideshow, and then we all voiced why we liked this one or we didn’t like that one… then we took a vote with pieces of paper,” Boeving said. “Everything else is kind of based off of vibes.” After the theme decision was made, voting took a backseat, and the group instead turned to consensus. “It’s kind of navigating around if we can all agree if it’s better for the group and better for the budget,” Boeving said. “If it’s what we think people will want, then we can make that decision.”

While the democratic vision works well sometimes, it can be stressful to work with many different students who all have different ideas. “At the beginning, it felt like there was a lot of tension between people,” said committee member Eva Beals. “A lot of people were kind of taking over… and talking a lot more than others,” Beals explains that sometimes the process tends to be dominated by some people, and not everyone’s ideas get heard. “It has gotten a little bit better since the beginning,” Beals said. “Trying to come up with a design idea by committee is kind of a recipe for disaster. Everyone just wants different things, and then sometimes it ends up looking a little disjointed because people are kind of trying to compromise.” Beals also points out that ideas end up more toned down because it’s the only way people can agree on a decision.

Lamb agrees with this and actually appreciates the decline in participation as the week’s countdown to prom wears on. She explains that at the beginning of planning, the committee had around 15 people; however, there are currently around nine weekly members. “That was really good because then we stopped having a bunch of conflicting ideas,” Lamb said. “We were able to get on the same page, and we had compromises that were able to work.”

Although CHS social studies teacher Ryan Silvester technically runs the planning meetings, the real leaders are seniors Morgan McClease and Ebie Lamb. “I’ve been very hands-off this year,” Silvester said. “I’ve been really proud of this group of seniors; really putting in the work and making this a student-led event.” Silvester explains that once the theme is chosen, “It’s really kind of executing on the seniors’ visions.”

CHS’s prom will be held at the Washtenaw Golf Club on April 19, 2024, from 7 to 11 pm. Tickets are sold at the front office.