Prom is arguably the most anticipated event for students, marking a rite of passage and an opportunity to celebrate with friends before the end of the school year. 

This year, due to limited available dates for venue reservations, prom is two weeks earlier than usual, which happens to fall during the middle of the two-week AP testing period. 

Students who elected to take these challenging courses are now facing a tough decision: celebrate the eventful weekend or hunker down and cram for exams.

This conflict highlights the continued underlying problem of lack of communication between LFHS event planners and students. Last year, LFHS attempted to switch the traditional Winter Formal dance to a retro-themed carnival.

Retrofest, which was going to include glow-in-the-dark mini golf, bumper cars, roller skating, and a DJ was canceled due to a lack of ticket sales. The school lost money from this cancellation, and the students missed a formal dance opportunity.

This year, many students are feeling a similar sense of frustration because prom is during the AP testing period.

“I feel like having prom during the AP testing week is a lose-lose scenario,” said senior Henry Diefenbach. “It is going to make prom less enjoyable because I’m going to be stressed, and I’m going to perform worse on the exams because of my lack of sleep and studying over prom weekend.” 

Students are pushed to take AP tests because they can earn college credits while in high school, and the outcomes of these tests are important for many students’ college admissions prospects. 

The ability to earn college credits in AP courses is solely based on your score (1-5) on the single-day AP test. Students can have an A+ in the actual class all year, but if they don’t pass the cumulative AP test in May, their entire school year of studying and the $97 test fee (per exam) are not recognized by colleges.

With the pressure of AP tests already weighing down on students, having prom during the same week can create a significant amount of stress and anxiety. The added pressure of prom during an already stressful two weeks will make the general sense of burnout experienced by students during AP exams even worse.

Although there are not many options for the prom committee when it comes to changing the date of the event this year, the two weeks of AP exams are definitely something that should be considered in future event date selections.

Stronger communication between event planners and LFHS students is needed to ensure that future events fit the student body’s schedule and interests.