High Life: A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Dreaming of the Best Grad Nite Party Ever
It used to be that Grad Nite meant only one thing to Orange County’s seniors--an all-night party at Disneyland. Well, that’s exactly how a majority of this year’s graduates will be spending their last evening together. But given a choice. . . .
Hot Topics wonders, “What would be your ideal way to spend Grad Nite?”
“The Grad Nite at University. As long as you’re with the people you spent four years with and you’ll never see again, it is ideal.”
Arwen Lawrence, 17, senior, University
“Have an all-night party with all my senior friends, playing all kinds of fun games.”
Kevin MacArthur, 18, senior, Western
“Eat, dance, play cards and possibly get a girl.”
Bruce Lee, 18, senior, Tustin
“A school-funded field trip to Club Med in Tahiti.”
Shakha Vora, 17, senior, Los Alamitos
“I would go to Catalina Island with the girl of my dreams. I’d cook her dinner and have it on the beach, buy her a diamond ring, and sail off into the moonlight.”
Yoon Min Chong, 17, senior, Westminster
“Spend it with my friends. No matter what we do, we’ll have fun because we’ll all be together.”
Kim Fitzhenry, 17, senior, Loara
“Have a mud-wrestling contest with seniors and take a cruise to Catalina.”
Long Le, 18, senior, Bolsa Grande
“To spend eight fun-filled hours with all my friends and maybe make new ones, too, at the ‘Future Shock’ Grad Nite party at Dana Hills.”
Rachelle Ricardo, 17, senior, Dana Hills
“I think that a cool Grad Nite would be to rent out the Queen Mary and have the music pumping as we head out to Catalina. No chaperones, of course.”
Mike Yoo, 19, senior, Savanna
“Rent out Angel Stadium and fill it with water and have everyone swim.”
Mike Costuros, 18, senior, Huntington Beach
“I would fly to Paris with my friends and not come home until I ran out of money.”
Jean Selden, 17, senior, Connelly
“Intoxicated on a beach in Mexico.”
Gene Zab, 18, senior, University
“Going out and doing something crazy that I would not normally do or ever do again.”
Vinh Li, 17, senior, Tustin
“At a big barbecue at home in Stuttgart, Germany, with all of my friends.”
Esther Stricker, 18, senior, Los Alamitos
“In a place where lots of prizes were given. Being with friends also would be a lot of fun.”
Brandon Hunter, 17, senior, Ocean View
“Spend it with that one special person in my life and have a picnic dinner on the beach. Just the two of us with no interruptions.”
Susanna Evans, 18, senior, Loara
“Be picked up in a limo and have Bobby Brown waiting inside to be my escort for the entire night.”
Nicole Alcorn, 17, senior, Bolsa Grande
“Attending the first-annual (on-campus) Grad Nite, and finishing the night with a concert of U-2 and a reunion of the Police and Van Halen.”
Scott Brayton, 17, senior, Dana Hills
“With all my friends. We’d go out all night and party our brains out and come home a week later.”
Robert Lou, 18, senior, Savanna
“To be in the middle of the Caribbean, floating on a raft with 14 bags of Eagle potato chips, Pam non-stick pan spray, 15 back issues of Readers’ Digest, a flashlight and Mocha Mix non-dairy creamer.”
Jason Downer, 18, senior, Huntington Beach
“Going on a cruise to Catalina with the whole class. We would just party the whole night.”
Debbie Weinstein, 17, senior, University
“Our own campus Grad Nite is cool enough.”
Lisa Smith, 17, senior, Laguna Hills
“At a party where there is no pressure to drink, tons of free food and with all of my friends that I’ve grown up with.”
Dan Stockwell, 18, senior, Los Alamitos
“On a plane to Hawaii.”
Kristen Bowman, 17, senior, Westminster
“To spend the night in jail with my high school buddies.”
Chip Knight, 17, senior, Savanna
“Fly the whole class to San Francisco for dinner and a big party on the Golden Gate Bridge.”
Nancy Yum, 17, senior, Connelly
“Grad Nite is one of your final chances to be with your high school buddies. No alcohol, no drugs, just lots of people and fun. A night in paradise sounds fun, but what is paradise?”
Minh Phan, 16, senior, Ocean View
“Exactly how I’m going to spend it--locked in all night at good old Dana Hills High School with all of my friends. It’s the best way I can think of to end four years of memories. Kind of like a grand finale.”
Ryan Stewart, 17, senior, Dana Hills
“To spend the whole night partying with all of my friends and especially my girlfriend. All I want not to do is to go to Disneyland and be locked up for eight hours.”
Mike Poolman, 18, senior, Savanna
“A party at my house with all my closest friends, where we would stay up all night watching movies, listening to music and talking about all the things we’ve done together.”
Sunny Winkler, 17, senior, Connelly
“I’m not sure how I’ll spend Grad Nite, but I’ll probably have a chemical imbalance in my body while I’m doing it.”
Peter Touchstone, 17, senior, Tustin
Next Week’s Hot Topic: What’s the worst summer job you could have?
Responses gathered by Brandi Winemiller (Bolsa Grande), Jennifer Chen (Connelly), Dana Wilshin (Dana Hills), Jane Wey (Huntington Beach), Megan Kenney (Laguna Hills), Nicole Williams (Loara), Jennifer Vineyard (Los Alamitos), Felice Wu (Ocean View), Jonathan Han (Savanna), Rachel Tuinstra (Tustin), Kiley Coble (University), Heather Orey (Western) and Molly Rutledge (Westminster).