“I can’t believe it!” seemed to be the general consensus on Feb. 28 when Bingham High School announced that prom would take place in person this year. Students from all over the school were posting the new information on their Instagram stories in an exhilarated frienzy. School dances have had a long standing history in the student life and culture among high schools across the country before the pandemic, and Bingham High School was no exception. The 2020-2021 school year has not allowed any highly anticipated in-person school dances, until now. Here are some details the public should know about this coming event.

Prom is scheduled to be on April 24 from 7 to 10 p.m. According to SBO adviser Ms. Shackelford, the event will be held on the school football field. Tickets will be sold from April 5 through April 16. Pricing will be $25 per couple and $15 for individuals. The school board has also decided that similar to past years’ dances, students from other schools are available to attend so long as they are the date of a current Bingham student. 

For this event to be possible, all students who intend to attend the dance will be required to have a COVID-19 test at the school on April 23. This testing will be provided by the school to the students who will attend. Any student who tests positive on this day will be told before leaving and therefore will not be allowed to attend the dance. Along with mandatory testing, all who attend will be required to wear a face mask at all times for the safety of the student body. 

The Bingham High School Student Body Officers have had a huge hand to play in this upcoming event with organizing and planning. When asked about “how the SBOs are feeling about the ability to hold prom in person this year”, the SBO of activities Mckell Singley remarked that “Dances are such a big part of high school… so when COVID hit and took that away we were super disappointed and knew the students would be too”.  Knowing and feeling the disappointment of the student body, the SBOs, along with administration, have been working tirelessly to bring this huge event back. Mckell continued to state, “We are thrilled for everyone to finally get the prom they deserve… plus, how cool is it to have a dance on the football field?!”. 

When asked “what students should know to make this event possible”, advisor Ms. Shackelford put emphasis on the responsibility to keep students safe saying, “Ultimately, it’s on the student body to help us have a fun and safe dance”. She made an emphasis on the need to wear masks properly at the dance and the need to refrain from mosh pitting among the students. In past years, irresponsible behaviors of students at dances have caused early shutdowns and harsher regulations.  The Bingham SBOs along with Ms. Shackelford expressed their hope for this dance “is that everyone will be able to have a great evening because safety and fun are mutually preferred among the students and staff at Bingham.”  To conclude her thoughts, Ms. Shackelford expressed that “Prom, regardless of a pandemic, should always be one of the most exciting dances of the year.”