MSPA to Organize Grade-Wide Pre-Parties Before Semi, Prom

by ALEA MARKS

Before school dances, it is a Menlo tradition for students to attend pre-parties. The pre-parties are designed for students to take pictures before the dance and spend time with their friends or dates. In the past, pre-parties have not been organized by the school, as individual friend groups organized their own preparties and hosted them at their houses. This year, the Menlo School Parent Association decided to organize gradewide pre-parties before the semi-formal dance and prom in order to encourage inclusivity.

Due to the fact that the pre-parties were historically divided up by friend groups, there was often a sense of exclusivity.

Especially for the freshmen who are still finding their place in the social scene, pre-parties can be a source of anxiety. “I remember worrying about being invited to a pre-party freshman year. It made it hard to look forward to the dance because I was so preoccupied about it,” senior Cate Pittman said. In order to combat this issue, all freshmen will have a pre-party at Menlo before the dance to decrease the possibility of exclusion.

According to MSPA member Renee Barkley, the idea for grade-wide preparties was first introduced last year.

“There had been a couple grade-wide pre-parties in the past, and the feedback from parents and students was super positive,” Barkley said.

The planning for the grade-wide pre-parties is completely directed by the MSPA, and the administration is not involved in any capacity beyond communicating the plans for the actual dance.

The pre-parties’ locations will vary for each grade, some being on campus and some being hosted by Menlo families.

“[The goal] is to provide a location where the whole grade could get together, take photos as a whole class and in smaller groups,” she said.

“Ideally, we would not spend a ton of money on these events because they’re really meant to be a place just for the kids to come together. They aren’t supposed to have a fancy party before the [dance].”

Coordinator of Student Activities

Frances Ferrell acts as a liaison between the MSPA and the administration regarding plans for the dances. While she agrees with the goals of inclusivity and supports the MSPA in planning the gradewide pre-parties, she believes them to be somewhat unrealistic due to the possibility of the pre-parties being over the top. “A lot of times [the pre-parties] are hosted in homes that are pretty large and not everyone would feel comfortable,” she said.

Freshman class president Jade Yoo agrees with Ferrell that off-campus pre-parties could contradict the school’s goals of inclusivity. “The freshman preparty happening at school gets rid of that feeling of a pre-party resembling a flamboyant display of wealth,” Yoo said.

Senior class president Tudor Braicu is in support of grade-wide pre-parties but thinks they should not be hosted at people’s houses. “I think it would be better if the pre-parties were organized at a more central place,” Braicu said.

Junior class president Paige Miller thinks the benefits of grade-wide preparties outweigh the possible negative effects. Due to COVID, both the junior opportunities, and she thinks that grade-wide pre-parties are a great way to facilitate more bonding between students. “I do understand how it can be viewed as exclusive or a display of wealth, but at the same time, if there wasn't a grade wide pre-party there would still be like three smaller pre-parties within friend groups,” Miller said.