Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantine began on March 13, 2020. At first, it was unsure if students would return to AHS, but within a few weeks, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California schools would be closed for the rest of the year. The quarantine and school closure resulted in online classes and a school-wide cancellation of all upcoming activities. One of the major, end-of-the-year activities that was cancelled was prom. Prom was scheduled to be on May 23, 2020, postponed until July or August when the school closure was indefinite, and ultimately cancelled.

Many students are upset about the school closure and the cancellation of prom. Senior Kyra Cherry was frustrated with the school closure’s effect on prom because of the level of uncertainty in the beginning. 

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“[W]e didn’t know when we were going to go back to school…everything just kept getting pushed back further, further, and further. No one was sure if they should buy a prom dress or...if they should still invest in prom…” Cherry said. 

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Although Cherry was “all for the postponed prom,” the idea was short-lived when prom was for sure not happening. 

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“Now that I know that prom is not happening...it's sad getting closer to the end of the year and knowing that things might not be the same...” Cherry said.

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Other students are indifferent to the cancellation of prom. Senior Ramil Briones felt that the school closure was “necessary to guarantee the safety of the students.”

 

Despite the decision to not attend prom, Briones was in agreement with the previous idea of postponing prom.

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“Postponing prom would have been good if the quarantine hadn’t gone on for so long. However it's irrelevant at this point,” Briones said.

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Unfortunately students missed out on several end-of-the-year activities, but this quarantine is a necessary course of action we must take to prevent further spreading COVID-19.