Prom’s Party and Price Go Through The Roof

The Crystal Ballroom at the Pan Pacific Hotel during Prom 2022 | Photo Credit: Alanna Rudolph

Hamber’s 2023 Prom, Under the Stars, is scheduled for May 18. However, the price of tickets has left some grads and parents shocked. Tickets cost $195 this year, an approximate 18 per cent uptake from Prom 2022 tickets, which cost $165. Grad Committee sponsors are displeased by ticket prices as well, and attribute the cost to rising venue fees.

The cost of a ticket is also $55 higher than indicated in the 2022-2023 Projected School Fees document, published on the Hamber website at the beginning of the year, where Prom tickets were cut at $140, causing parent and PAC pushback. The projected Prom ticket price is also listed as $25 less than last year’s ticket price.

A Hamber parent of a grade 12 student, who wished to remain anonymous for privacy, stated that the Hamber PAC was unaware and shocked by the difference in cost of tickets compared with the projected price. They said, “I find that as a parent, [it is] kind of weird that none of the administration would think twice that an increase of $50 would affect some families.”

This parent also wondered whether families could be accommodated under the VSB Financial Hardship policy, because of their previous understanding of the policy, as explained to them during unrelated work with a VSB official. However, when they brought this up at the April PAC meeting, “Ms. Jensen had said that all grad activities are considered optional. They're elective, they're not official, [not] School Board mandated,” and therefore families could not request financial help to the school for Prom tickets or grad ceremony fees.

Ms. M. Jensen (Administration) confirmed with the Nest that grad activities can not be covered specifically under the Financial Hardship policy as they are optional, extracurricular activities. This policy, Administrative Procedure 506, reads, “No student of school age will be denied an opportunity to participate in a course, class or program because of financial hardship.”

According to the April PAC meeting minutes in the May. 9 newsletter, Ms. Jensen also mentioned how the school did not have any funds left from the one-time Student and Family Affordability grant from the provincial government. So those funds are unavailable to be used for Prom or grad ceremony assistance.

According to the January PAC meeting minutes in the Jan. 31 newsletter, and emphasized in the April meeting minutes, Ms. Jensen outlined that the Student and Family Affordability Fund was used in part to assist Hamber families in need, and the remainder was used to make this year's Grade 8 Camp free for students. The January meeting minutes also outline “general food distribution” and Compassion Club funding as other uses of the grant.

According to the parent, PAC still wanted “to help enable anybody who wants to go to their Prom, because even though it is not a school official event, they felt like it was a life affirming event.” They told The Nest that the PAC Chairs talked to Ms. Jensen about possible fundraising after the April meeting. 

In the April PAC meeting minutes it is also stated that PAC has significant funds remaining in the gaming grant account, funds that are received through the provincial government’s Community Gaming Grants program. 

The Nest could not reach either of the PAC Chairs for comment. Ms. Jensen did not wish to divulge any meetings between her and specific Hamber parents, including the PAC chairs, out of respect of confidence. However, Ms. Jensen did confirm that PAC graciously wanted to help with the cost of Prom for families through possible fundraising. 

Ms. T. Yip (Science) corroborated that there has been talk between the PAC and the school to assist with the cost of Prom tickets in the near future, however it is not confirmed what this assistance could look like. She also reiterated that the Hamber PAC pays in full for the Grad Breakfast later in the year.

Tickets for Prom 2023, Under The Stars | Photo Credit: Alanna Rudolph

Eric Hamber has partnered with Pan Pacific Vancouver as a Prom venue for several years. However, post-pandemic, Grad Committee sponsor Ms. B. Panesar (English) says that fees have jumped. “[The Pan Pacific] is one of Vancouver's most eminent hotels, it is the downtown place, so their costs have skyrocketed after COVID.”

Another Grad Committee sponsor, Ms. Yip, commented, “They make you pay 18 per cent gratuity. You need to pay some sort of media levy fee, [an] area fee for this duration of time, [and a] security fee.” According to Ms. Yip, these added fees, plus tax, made individual tickets over $200 before Grad Committee subsidization.

The Grad Committee will not know the final price of Prom until the confirmed number of guests is available, according to Ms. Yip. “[The price] is for about minimum 250 guests,” she said, and not meeting that number would result in even steeper ticket prices. However, she confirmed with the Nest after the ticket sales closed that ticket sales have exceeded the minimum guest count.

Ticket costs cover the Pan Pacific experience, which include food, sound and audio-visual equipment, security, school chaperones, and the backdrop of the Crystal Ballroom, the largest space in the hotel. According to the Grad Comm sponsors, everything else is paid for by fundraising. Ms. Panesar stated that “[Grad Committee] has been raising money for things like door prizes and the photo booths.”

However, Ms. Yip commented that as of late, Grad Committee fundraising has not been as successful as it was in the past. She said, “The reason being is because there's a lot of things that we couldn’t do,” citing past fundraisers like car washes, pizza sales, and bubble tea sales as former subsidizers for Prom tickets. She commented that the scope of fundraising is limited and that “the only things [they] could typically do [is] the stuff that is in-house and that [is] not food related.”

However, Grad Committee declined to comment on how much money was fundraised this year.

Grads acknowledged the expensive and inaccessible nature of Prom, but still view it as an unique ‘high school’ experience. 

“It is way too expensive,” a Prom attendee, Naomi Klymenko (12), told the Nest. Klymenko stated that she didn’t think Prom was worth the price. “I’m personally just doing it because of the experience; because it's not like we're going to get multiple Proms,” she concluded nevertheless.

“I feel like that's really inaccessible for people who wouldn't be able to pay that or don't come from higher middle class families,” Isidora Kostic (12) said. Kostic also commented, “I think it's worth it because it's one of those high school experiences that everyone looks forward to.”

Some Grads also hoped for more subsidization of the ticket costs through Grad Committee fundraising. Klymenko explained, “I believe we should do a lot more to make it cheaper for more people. We should be allowed to do more fundraisers to make the price lower, because we shouldn't be depending only on the grad hoodies.”

Grad Committee sponsors express their sympathy about rising costs, also understanding the social pressures that influence students’ spending on Prom. “The price is quite expensive and I understand,” Ms. Yip said. “In the past, it wasn't as expensive. Now it's been something that we have been worried about.”

Ms. Panesar said, “It’s expensive, and it's not just the actual cost that's expensive. You have to think about all the other pieces.” 

Traditionally, the Prom experience can include expensive new formal wear, professional hairstyling and makeup, limousine rentals, and even photography. With rising ticket prices, Grads are citing high numbers for their total expenditures on Prom. 

Through an Instagram Story poll, the Nest has collected self-reported data on how much Hamber Grads are spending in total on Prom. The Nest verified 68 Grade 12 respondents, however cannot verify that these respondents are attending Prom, or that this poll was completed by the name associated with each account. In total, 16 responses were disregarded as the names associated with each account could not be directly linked to a Hamber Grad.

34 per cent of surveyed Grads reported that they will spend $800 or more on Prom. 15 per cent cited they will spend between $500 and $800, and 38 per cent will be spending between $200 and $500. 13 per cent of respondents reported they would only be paying for the Prom ticket, spending $195.

This leaves organizers wondering how to cut costs. Ms. Panesar said the idea of hosting the event at the school has been debated. “This is something that Ms. Jensen and I have definitely talked about, which is why don't we have the prom when we're in the new school, in the new school. That way, it would certainly take down some of the cost.” 

However, organizers and students worry that a change in venue may take away from the allure and uniqueness of the event. “For it to be in a gym, it's kind of not as special,” Kostic commented on the idea. Ms. Panesar explains the disadvantages for students, “They won’t get nice photographs right at the waterfront, in that location. They won't get a fancy ballroom with beautiful lights.” 

Other venues beside the new school have been explored, with little luck. According to Ms. Panesar, most of the downtown hotels charge similar fees for an event like Prom, and that alternate venues like the UBC Student Union building had not received good reviews from other schools.