Did you know Hershey High School’s sophomore and junior class officers decided to opt out of prom for their classes? The once “right of passage” is now taken away from half of the student population due to the decline in attendance.

For countless years, Hershey High School has held a sophomore and junior prom. While it was an uncommon privilege for sophomores to attend prom, juniors specifically deserve to experience the dance with the challenging year they have. From SATs, to college/future preparations, shouldn’t the class of 2026 have something to look forward to at the end of the year?

Harvard Medical School writes that, “other studies show that dance helps reduce stress, increases levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin, and helps develop new neural connections, especially in regions involved in executive function, long-term memory, and spatial recognition.” Prom gives students a chance to take a break and have fun. Without that, students will only associate school with stress, which is key to absences and giving up on school work.

Prom promotes class unity and brings our school community together. By providing students with a space to make memories, they leave with a positive view of their school year as they transition into summer. Arranging a fun prom gives students the motivation to attend sports games, musical performances, and other after-school activities.

Nesli Akarsu and Muhammed Turhan in the International Journal of Contemporary Educational Research, state that “Moral atmosphere has two effects on education: first, it acts as an implicit curriculum through which moral values and norms, a sign of moral values, can be transferred indirectly to students for moral education. Secondly, it provides social contexts where students interact with their classroom peers and teachers and can affect each other (Garrod, 1992),”. Grades in school are directly correlated with the activities students are attending outside of school, whether that’s a club event or, in this instance, prom. If students are attending these events, morale skyrockets.

If attendance is the problem, then the school should try to find ways that will make attendance more appealing to the student body. Tell us what you think by emailing broadcaster@hershey.k12.pa.us, and we may use your comment in a follow-up story.