Senior ball kicks off senior activities as students celebrate their last dance
Three months before, dresses and tuxes were ordered. Two weeks before, tickets were bought. Eight hours before, preparations began for the last dance. Senior Ball took place May 6 at the Masonic Temple from 6-10 p.m., and it was likely the last time students would buy a dress or tuxedo, put a boutonniere on their date and be surrounded by their peers in a dance setting.
“I actually got my dress for prom last year, but I got super sick and ended up in septic shock on the day of prom and missed it. That made being healthy enough to go this year so much more special,” Samantha Lee said. “My favorite part of ball was taking pictures with all of my friends.”
Hours of work went into planning the event. The senior class officers had to book a venue, caterer, DJ and a photo booth. Then, they organized the entire event for seven hours the Friday before, by setting up tables and decorations at the venue.
“The decorations were nicely done and pretty; you could definitely see the effort that was put into it. The food was also very delicious. There was lots of food to go around and certainly enough for students,” Angelina Petrosian said.
The playlist of the event was created by senior class officers, and allowed anyone in the senior class to add to it. It had nearly six hours worth of music with 13 contributors, with a wide variety of songs like “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran and “Super Bass” by Nicki Minaj, among others.
“I feel like the music they played really helped set the tone and environment for the dance. When ‘Fergalicious’ came on, everyone formed a mosh pit and I went in the middle to Irish jig. It was super funny and I felt like it broke the ice to get everyone hyped,” Ronald Giomi said.
The theme of the ball was “Cloud 9” with light blue and white decorations and cloud-shaped cookies as party favors. Guests started the night off by finding their assigned tables, followed by a small buffet style dinner. The dinner included two types of pastas and salads, along with tri-tip. Tables started to be cleared at 7:30 p.m. to make room for the dance floor. The dance ended at 10 p.m., but guests took breaks at the drink bar and photo booth. Teachers, staff and administrators helped to check guests in and monitor the dance throughout the night.
Makena Locsin said, “Senior Ball was hands down my favorite dance I’ve ever been to at Whitney. The whole day was actually so stressful because of the rain, and the group I was going with had to change where we were going to take pictures. But luckily it stopped raining in time for pictures at the Capitol. We danced, took pics on my friends’ camera and at the photo booth until 20 minutes before the dance ended. My favorite part of the dance was spending hours getting ready, getting to hang out and take pictures with my friends and boyfriend and when they played Pitbull.”
by NATALIE DEEBLE, EMERSON KIBBY & CARSON NICHOLS
