Suit jackets draped around the edges of chairs, wrappers of red velvet cupcakes crumpled on the white tablecloth, and clusters of high-heels nudged in the corners of the floor set the scene of the Urban School’s 2017 prom night. Walking into the venue, The Mark Hopkins Hotel, it was impossible to miss the array of tables of stacked with different entrees and desserts. The Mark Hopkins hotel provided a much larger venue than past Urban proms, with an estimated two thirds of the space dedicated to food platters and places for students to sit. Because of this, there was not as much space for students to dance as the past three Urban proms.

Sam Masto (‘17) said, “…having a specific dance floor was nice, because we were able to have one place to dance. However, it would have been better if it was a little bigger, because there was a lot of hectic dancing.”

Masto alluded to the giant moshpit at the center of the dance floor, which lasted nearly the entire night. “A girl was pushed down at one point” because of the moshpit, continued Masto.

“I wish there was a little more space” said Dilli Dillingham (‘18).

However, some students liked the smaller dance floor.

James Fusco (‘18) said, “I think the close proximity allowed for a different type of dancing, a high energy environment that was lacking in past proms.”

Despite the smaller dance floor, according to an Urban Legend survey sent on May 8, 2017, 35.4 percent of the 113 respondents ranked the venue 5 stars, and 46.9 percent ranked the venue 4 stars.

In the same survey, nearly 70 percent of Urban students ranked the D.J. either one or two stars. However, this is not the first time the majority of Urban students indicated a disapproval towards the D.J. According to a multiple choice survey about the 2016 prom sent out by The Urban Legend, nearly 60 percent said that the music played was “just okay.” This data revealed a trend of students not fully enjoying the music played at the dance. According to the 2017 prom survey, 40 respondents answered the optional question: “would you like to expand on any / all of the questions above?” 4 out of the 40 who responded to this question indicated that they wish for a student D.J. at the 2018 prom.

Leo Kim (‘20) said that he “didn’t like [the D.J.] that much” because of the “weird transitions between songs.”

On the contrary, Hugo Holley (‘18) said that the D.J. “was better than expected. I liked that they played a lot of old classic songs, like from Footloose.”

The food offered at this year’s prom included, but was not limited to, vegetarian, crab cake and beef sliders, red velvet cupcakes, vegetables and dip, and an array of cheeses. There were four tables that offered food, which allowed for a shorter line while waiting to eat.

According to Hannah Worsley (‘18), the food set up was “very convenient. It could be eaten while walking, or sitting down … the food was very good, I especially liked the beef and crab cake sliders.”

The 2016 prom survey indicated that 70 percent of students who took the survey thought that the food offered at prom was “just okay.” However, this year’s food got a much better review, as 67 percent of students ranked the food either 4 or 5 stars in the 2017 prom survey.

At the end of the night, as suit jackets were picked up from the chairs, and corsages were left on the tables, it was clear that the 2017 prom was successful. Overall, 67.3 percent of students ranked the overall prom 4 stars, and 47.8 percent ranked their amount of fun a 4 out of 5. Whether or not you thought the dance floor was too small or the music was dull, the 2017 prom will go down as a great one. Perhaps this is because of the magnificent venue, or maybe because of the various desserts. However, there is one thing that can be certain: the attendees of the 2017 Urban prom love to dance.