The junior formal, scheduled for January 25th as a post midterm celebration and key fundraiser for senior prom, was canceled on January 23rd due to low ticket sales. The decision was officially announced in an email from class sponsor Allison Mellet on January 23, which read, “Due to limited interest and ticket sales, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Winter Formal.”
The planning for Junior Formal began nearly a year prior in the spring of sophomore year for the class of ’26. At that time, class sponsors secured the gym, set the date, and booked a DJ. The event was scheduled for the weekend following midterms, as it traditionally had been in previous years. According to some of the staff members involved in the planning process, despite these early preparations, promotion efforts appeared to falter as the event approached. Mellet explained her initial expectations for promotion, saying that “In December, [we] sent out communication…to our officers saying, ‘Winter Formal is coming up, let’s start planning. We’re going to need flyers, we’re going to need announcements in the mornings, and we’re going to need promotion on social media.’” After returning from winter break, class officers and sponsors reconvened to assess progress. She
recalled, “There were no morning announcements in. I’m not sure whether or not at that time it had been promoted on social media; I don’t think it was. We had asked that there be flyers put in the hallway; there was no flyer created.” As a result, according to Mellet, “A lot of the promotion fell on Mr. Feeney and I, which we [had hoped] juniors would get involved in.”
However, the junior class officers had a different view of their promotional efforts. Eric Tran ’26 stated, “We made numerous posts and stories on our Instagram promoting the dance and also spread the word among friends and classmates trying to convince them to go.” Fellow class officer Tori
Locascio ’26 echoed this sentiment, saying, “Planning the event was the job of Feeney and Mellet. To promote the event, we sat downstairs everyday during lunch asking every junior who passed if they would buy a ticket. We asked them to spread the word and advertised different payment options. We posted on Instagram and multiple emails were sent out.” Even despite their outreach, interest remained low.
Ultimately, the event was canceled due to insufficient ticket sales. Mellet explained, “We wanted to sell 100 tickets, and there are 400+ kids in our class. You would think that in an event of the class, that you would have at least half of them attend, and we had around fifty sales.”
Many students expressed disinterest in the event. Locascio recalled hearing comments such as, ‘That sounds lame,’ ‘I would never go to that,’ or ‘Wow, thirty dollars? That’s an insane price.’ Despite efforts to persuade students to attend, enthusiasm for the dance remained low. “We implored the student body to buy tickets in order to help our prom, but I really don’t think there was anything else we could’ve done,” Locascio added.
The cancellation raised concerns about its impact on senior prom fundraising, as Junior Formal is a major source of funds. Locascio explained, “We will have to raise over $5,000-$6,000, and if we fail to do so, our prom will most likely be here at Lower Merion.” However, Mellet later denied that prom was at any risk. “We would never even consider not hosting a prom. It does tell me that maybe our class isn’t invested in dances but it has no impact on us hosting a prom. Financially, because of the lack of fundraising from this one very specific event, it doesn’t mean that we can’t have others,” she said. Mellet also noted that losing a fundraiser like Junior Formal could affect ticket prices. “The money that we would have generated on this event” would be used to offset the cost of prom, “so losing a fundraiser like that can be impactful to ticket prices,” she added.
The cancellation sparked disappointment among students, faculty, and parents. Locascio reflected, “I was disheartened. I knew the amount of effort Ms. Mellet and Mr. Feeney put into making this event happen and felt awful that we let them down. I was disappointed in us officers for not advocating enough.” Mellet shared similar feelings, saying “It’s kind of disappointing that it was an opportunity to celebrate the end of midterms and as a class together. Anytime that we have an opportunity to have a positive, moral-boosting event in the school, it gets canceled.That sucks. So I hope that we have more opportunities in the future to get the class together, and I hope that they are successful.” The cancellation also led to backlash from parents. Mellet revealed that she received emails from parents expressing frustration, with some saying, “My child doesn’t go to any social events,” while others complained, “I bought a dress for my daughter. What do I do with it now?” Parent Marla Willner reflected on dances back in her day: “Dances were a big deal for students. It was an opportunity to get dressed up and go to an event.” She added that she feels that “this generation is all about the photo posts on social media and less about the actual dance.”
Other student reactions to the cancellation varied. Laila Miller ’26 admitted, “I was shocked but I did not really care. But I guess it’s a shame for the people that wanted to go.” Katie Potts-Drew ’26 felt differently, saying, “I was disappointed, because I know it’s important for us to fundraise as a class and it would have been a fun night with my friends.” Some students suggested changes that could have increased interest. Tobey Fink ’26 speculated, “In this day and age, if they called it junior prom, more people would go.” Potts-Drew also noted, “Even though tickets were expensive, me and my friends wanted prom to be special so we were willing to pay that.”
Although the Junior Formal was canceled, hope remains for future fundraising efforts. Tran hinted at the possibility of another event later in the school year. “We may be planning a dance for this spring, so please plan on buying tickets for that event. We need to raise money for prom, and these events are huge for funds. We also plan on running bake sales and other ways of raising money, so please show out and help with funding the prom,” he urged. However, Mellet clarified that no additional event had been formally discussed yet.
Despite the challenges surrounding Junior Formal, class officers and sponsors for the class of 2026 remain determined to ensure prom is a memorable experience, and to plan future events. and fundraisers.
