All things in moderation- that seems like a rational guideline for many aspects of life. When it comes to prom, however, that advice is most certainly not taken. Selling concessions as a sophomore and putting together the Silent Auction as a junior are done, mostly, to raise money to create RHS’s prom. Last year, the class of 2007 used around $15,000 for the 2006 prom. Now, this year, RHS competed to get even more money for prom.

Stand, an anti-tobacco movement led by Ohio teens, wants to spread the anti-tobacco word to all Ohio youths. One way they have chosen to do this is by creating Prom Raiders. Any high school in Ohio had the chance (from Oct. 1 to Dec. 15) to decorate their school in orange (the Stand color), in a creative way, to promote the healthy, smoke-free lifestyle. The winning school will receive $40,000 to spend on their prom to make it, as Stand calls it, the “sickest prom ever.”

$40,000 to throw a prom…and I thought the amount RHS spent was excessive. So, to me, this contest boiled down to this- RHS students, smokers or not, decorated the school doors orange and then, those students who smoke suddenly realized that they are making a terrible health choice and need to stop smoking -oh wait, they left school, excited that we could win so much money for prom, and lit up. This contest is not really going to stop teens from smoking, but it will make them eager for prom to arrive.

Instead of creating this contest to benefit a hospital, or homeless shelter, Stand wants to give it to a prom. It seems that not just RHS teens are ridiculously fixated on prom, teens all across Ohio are as well. But how else can adolescents be motivated to promote a smoke-free lifestyle than by monetary reward? Considering that teens would most likely not do this project without a reward, specifically a reward that directly benefits them, what else could Stand have done? Well, how about giving the winning school some of the money for their prom and donating the rest to charity, or just donating all the money to charity, and hope that schools still participate?

Roosevelt spends an enormous amount of money on prom. Why not donate a portion of the Silent Auction profits to a charity and keep the rest for prom? I realize that prom is a significant event for many high school students, a rite of passage, and that is perfectly fine. But it is not the be all and end all of one’s high school experience. I am not saying that RHS should not raise the money and work hard to produce a prom that benefits both the students and the senior citizens of Kent, but why must it be so excessive? Think of the multitude of ways that money could be better spent. I would rather see at least some of the money be put to philanthropic use. It could even be used to benefit Roosevelt for the future, rather than for just one evening.

Since Stand has designated the winning school of Prom Raiders to use the money specifically for prom, RHS rightly participated. Prom is the night many Rough Riders look forward to all year; so if it is this important, why not compete? It just seems that prom is injected with a yearly dosage of steroids- needing to be bigger and better for the next year. Let’s not forget that it is a dance, a dance on one evening of the year that lasts five hours. At least for this year’s prom, smoking won’t be a problem at any after parties because we have all taken a Stand against that, right?