This year’s Junior Class finds itself with $4,000 and 1 1/2 years left to fundraise for prom. At the end of its fundraising efforts last year, the previous Junior Class (the current Senior Class) had a balance of over $10,000 according to last year’s Junior Class president Nima Emami.

Additionally, for the first time in several years, the Junior Class is not participating in a first semester fundraiser. Instead, it is getting ready to sponsor the winter dance in January. The class hopes to profit by selling dance tickets as well as some form of food and beverage.

“I am a little nervous that there isn’t a lot of money in our account, but it seems like this year we are off to a better start by participating in larger fundraisers,” junior Cat Partain said. “I’m glad the Junior Class is sponsoring a dance this year, though, because we really need the money.”

Confidence levels remain high regarding the upcoming winter dance. Last year’s Junior Class was able to raise between $2,000 and $3,000 by sponsoring the dance, something this year’s class hopes to emulate. However, if the class does manage to reach its goal, it will still be left with a balance below that of the former Junior Class.

According to the current Junior Class president Katherine Portelli, the class has relied on minor fundraisers such as popcorn and cookie dough sales to make money.
Next semester, the class is considering hosting a silent auction.

“We think that we could make a big amount of money off of that, especially because we’ve seen it happen before,” Katherine said.

The class is undecided about the costs of prom. Currently, the class is deciding on a location and will deal with the financial aspect after that.

“We haven’t really looked at prom seriously,” Katherine said. “After [we find a location], we plan to narrow down the amount of money we need and fundraise based off of that.”

Katherine believes the juniors will be able to fund a successful prom.

Other juniors worry that the class needs to step it up financially.

“Our Junior Class is good at coming up with ideas, but bad at executing them,” junior Noorin Dorosti said. “We have so many plans to raise money and pay for prom, but we aren’t taking action. I think we need to start thinking of a strategy where we can raise money faster and more efficiently because otherwise our prom will take place in a junk yard.”

The juniors will also participate in minor fundraisers during the year.