Parties Compromise on 1999 Prom Theme

Sometimes a solution is just this easy.

When Simi Valley High School seniors were recently told they couldn’t use a line from the song “1999” by the Artist Formerly Known as Prince as the theme of next month’s prom they balked.

After meeting with administrators and taking the case to the media, student leaders crafted a compromise that school officials say they can live with.

They added the word “prom” for the May 1 event, which will be held at the Sony Studios in Culver City.

So, the new and approved theme is “Party Like It’s 1999 Prom.”

“The students have come up with a way to combine their desired theme, ‘Party Like It’s 1999,’ with the prom,” Principal Dennis Rast said. “All they did was clarify what party it was. It came out to be so simple.”

Rast and other administrators challenged the original theme out of concern that the word “party” would be read in the community as a drug- or alcohol-related activity. By adding the word “prom,” no confusion is expected.

Student leaders had searched for a theme free of the “dating” connotations traditionally associated with proms.

“For some people, they do have a romantic date, and all those romantic themes in the past would be OK. But for a lot of the students, it really isn’t a prom date. It’s all about going there with your friends and having a good time,” senior Jessica Self, 17, a leadership student has said. “We moved it away from a hotel. We’re having different souvenirs, different food. The lyrics of the song are about having a good time.”

But it was just those traditional connotations that the administration wanted to keep, Rast said. The amended theme makes it clear that the event is an appropriate school function, he added.