BY LIZZIE DEADRICK

     You may not have your dress or a date yet, but you should start thinking about prom—the junior class officers definitely are. For weeks now, the four elected officials, along with junior class advisor Cheryl Toepfer, have been working tirelessly to plan Prom 2012.

     Contrary to what many students may think, the prom-planning process is not just about choosing a fun theme and pretty colors. Rather, hours and hours of work go into creating a special night that will run smoothly.

     “It actually involves a lot of small little details that no one notices,” explains senior class secretary, Jane Spooner, who helped plan prom last year. “We put in a lot of time into prom.”

     Junior class president Jeff Guggenheim is beginning to realize that himself. Lately, he and the other officers have been meeting with Toepfer nearly every week to organize the details of the upcoming prom.

     “We pick out the things we want our prom to have,” says Guggenheim. “This ranges from the theme, to the food at the dinner, to the mood created in the Hall of Mirrors itself.”

     Guggenheim is greatly enjoying his role in making Prom 2012 a reality.

     “The most fun part is being able to tell other people what we want at our prom,” he says. “The decision is really up to us.”

     Last year, Spooner also had a great time putting prom together.

     “I loved seeing it all done and knowing all the ins and outs of it. I appreciated prom much more knowing all the work that went into it,” she remembers.

     But it’s not always an easy, fun undertaking; organizing a dance can get difficult when it comes to budget, pleasing the student body and long hours of boring tasks, as Spooner experienced.

     “The worst part by far was addressing the invitations. Writing over 200 addresses and return addresses was horrible,” Spooner explains.

     The budget, too, is a tricky obstacle that prom-planners must face. Junior class vice president Ryan Fine is currently embarking on the this monetary challenge.

     “People don’t realize how much money is put into the decorations. Every last detail adds up,” Fine points out.

     Spooner also describes her experience balancing the prom budget.

     “People don’t realize that we don’t have control over a lot of things, like the food for instance. “It’s kind of yucky but we only got a menu of about 6 meal options. So we picked the one that sounded the best and was still within the budget,” says Spooner.

     Challenges like these are what make planning prom both a complicated and rewarding task for the junior officers who commit their time to the big dance every year. Spooner offers advice to those planning prom this year and in years to come.

     “Don’t stress about it. Even if every detail isn’t perfect, no one will even notice. It always turns out awesome, thanks to the marvelous guidance of Mrs. Toepfer,” Spooner says.

     Guggenheim echoes Spooner’s attitude toward Toepfer, explaining how the advisor is a monumental part of the process.

     “Mrs. Toepfer is instrumental in planning prom because, while she doesn’t make the decisions for us, she definitely knows what decisions need to be made and makes sure we make them in time,” he says of the ever-helpful advisor. “I don’t think other students realize how important Mrs. Toepfer is to their prom. It really couldn’t happen without her.”

     The result of all the extensive planning and hard work, of course, is the actual prom. Though it has been kept under wraps for some time now, the Junior officers are finally ready to reveal this year’s theme.

     “After much debate between us officers about the theme, we chose Casino Royale because it gives us a great opportunity to pretend like we’re all classy black tie spies and casino goers,” announces Guggenheim. Aside from disclosing the theme, though, the president doesn’t offer much else regarding this year’s prom. However, he does divulge one exclusive secret.

     “I don’t know how much we’re supposed to reveal about the night just yet,” says Guggenheim, “but I can tell you that the ‘Prom 2012’ sunglasses are back.”

     Like Guggenheim, Fine is excited for prom but won’t yet reveal any specifics. However, he does say this: “Prom is going to be a blast this year.”