by Jacqueline Uranga, staff writer

The weekend of Junior Prom is a time for upperclassmen to have fun and memorable experiences.

But those experiences were affected this year by instances of students breaking school rules during the dance on April 30 at Livermore Shrine Center.

This year’s prom in particular highlighted several issues which the school has yet to control.

According to many juniors, students were drinking before, during and after prom.

While a few students were breathalyzed during the dance and caught with alcohol in their system, most students agree that the majority of those students who drank were not punished.

“I know there were a lot of people that were drunk there that just didn’t get caught,” said junior A.J. Kontolis.

When a senior boy who was guest at prom was caught with alcohol in his system, it led to a search by administrators of his entire group.

“They ended up checking our bus,” said Maya Kordahi, a junior who went to prom on the same bus as the senior caught drinking.

According to students on that party bus, about five flasks containing alcohol were found.

Administrators interrogated many of the students in that group in order to determine which students were responsible for bringing alcohol onto the bus.

While administrators responded when alcohol was found on the party bus, other students still bring alcohol to dances without getting caught.

Students say that it is still possible for girls at dances to hide alcohol in their dresses or for students to bring alcohol into the bathrooms.

Other students say that teachers and administrators supervising the dances are simply unaware when students are drunk or on drugs.

“If someone is high, they probably want to stay low and make sure it doesn’t seem like they are on stuff,” said junior Malcolm Johnson.

Most teachers supervising the dance floor did not see students there who appeared to be intoxicated.

“I didn’t see anybody who looked obviously inebriated,” said science teacher Andrew White, who supervised.

Apart from alcohol, several students were involved in a fight at prom that led to the girls’ bathroom being closed toward the end of the dance.

Following junior prom, stories from the dance were spread and seniors were told by administrators that students would be tested with a breathalyzer before entering the Senior Ball.

While no one at Senior Ball was breathalyzed, the threat of being discovered with alcohol in their system kept some seniors from drinking before ball.

“We just didn’t get our breathalyzers,” said assistant principal Jennifer Tilton.

But administrators insist that breathalyzers will be used at all future dances.

When asked why students drink, use drugs or otherwise break school rules during dances, most students felt that those students breaking rules were trying to make the school dance a fun experience.

“I guess they want to have the best time they can,” said junior Armani Washington.

Students say that low expectations of school dances cause more students to drink and use drugs to have fun.

“All my friends, we heard that It was not gonna be fun at all,” said A.J.

Many students had complaints about the DJ and the music he played during junior prom.

“He was just playing horrible music and people were throwing ice at him,” said Armani.

Administrators view the type of songs played at dances as a factor which affects how students dance.

“I go to the DJ to change the music,” when student dancing becomes inappropriate, said Principal Mark Corti.

But to according to some students, the type of music can affect dances in other ways.

“People usually go to dances sober,” said Maya. “But now that they play Lady Gaga and other music students don’t like more students are starting to drink.”

Administrators are still grappling with the issue of drinking and rule breaking at dances, but they insist that the problem is isolated to a small number of students.

“There was inappropriate behavior by a few students at the junior prom,” said Corti.

Students who attended prom say that as many as 30 students were sent home from the dance for drinking and that many other students at the dance were drunk

Administrators disagree, saying that these statements by students are exaggerated.