Sidwell’s current schedule for prom is illogical and detrimental to students’ enjoyment and well-being. Students should be allowed to leave prom before 1:00 a.m., as it is counterproductive to enforce a guideline contrary to students’ usual sleep schedules. A lack of sleep could negatively impact their weekend by hindering their ability to complete schoolwork or perform in extracurriculars. Students should have the choice to go home and sleep early if they choose to without feeling pressured to stay or needing to miss a significant portion of prom.
Many students may have commitments that require them to leave early, while others may simply not want to stay the entire duration of prom, and the school should respect these conflicts and sentiments. For example, many students’ parents generally require them to arrive home before the current policy’s timeline would allow. Whether they have work to complete, events scheduled for the next day, or are simply tired and do not wish to stay at prom until late at night, students should be allowed to come and go as best suits them. Staying at prom until 1:00 a.m. is an unreasonable expectation given both students and their parents’ responsibilities and sleep needs.
Similar to the school’s typical attendance policy, students should be able to leave so long as they sign themselves out and inform the school of their departure. This relieves the school of responsibility over the students and allows the students to leave for home at the best time for them and their parents or friends. This mechanism already operates efficiently at school day-to-day and would be the most effective way of balancing responsibility and students’ independence. Students being permitted to leave earlier would also prevent them from driving while tired, which could be especially dangerous for students with long commutes.
Driving back from prom is already a challenge. It is imperative that safe driving be the priority, and allowing students to leave earlier would enable this. Beyond just exhaustion, it is also generally safer earlier at night in the greater Washington area.
In conclusion, students should be permitted to leave prom before 1:00 a.m. in order to prioritize household and schoolwork responsibilities, healthy sleep schedules and safety. Students should be able to sign themselves out with the expectation that they will be able to safely transport themselves back home before they become excessively drowsy. This simple change would maximize students’ enjoyment, safety and convenience on prom night.
