As Bonita Vista High (BVH)’s 2023 prom approaches on May 6, many seniors are urgently trying to buy tickets from the Associated Student Body (ASB). BVH’s 2023 Task Force installed a week-by-week price increase for prom tickets. However, there are around 200 seniors on the choices list who are only permitted to purchase tickets two weeks after the first ticket sales, when tickets are $85.

BVH attendance coordinator and Integrated Math I teacher David Cobian decided to delay choices list seniors from purchasing prom tickets to avoid the issues the ASB faced during Grad Nite ticket sales from recurring.

“I noticed that for Grad Nite, a student with 101 absences, 11 tardies and a GPA of 2.2 got a ticket because they had the money ready to buy the Grad Nite ticket,” Cobian said. “A student that has one absence, no tardies and a 3.17 GPA didn’t get a chance to buy a ticket.”

Students are on the choices list for various reasons: they have seven or more hours of unexcused absences, eight or more total tardies and a GPA of 2.0 or lower. This list is a method of accountability for students who do not maintain their grades or attendance. Cobian believes this delay is fair to the students who consistently attend school and keep their grades up. 

“I found it fair for those that are off the choices list; students who are doing the right thing, coming to school on time and doing their assignments. These students are the ones that are not on the choices list,” Cobian said.

2023 Task Force President and senior Lannah Garcia shares similar perspectives with Cobian. She explains that the delay is a reminder to seniors to maintain consistent attendance by rewarding student consistent attendance with early and cheap ticket sales.

“Throughout this year there have been a lot of chances to go to Saturday school and get off the choices list. If you didn’t want to take that time out of your Saturdays, then I don’t think paying $10 or $5 more would be that much of a burden,” Garcia said.

Prom tickets were released at the end of spring break, meaning those on the choices list had fewer chances to clear their absences. Despite this, Garcia still believes the delay is fair play. 

“It’s unfortunate that we started selling when spring break ended, but Ms. Ada held a Saturday school when we went on spring break, so that was another chance seniors had to clear absences,” Garcia said. “The overall concept of [the delay] is relatively fair, just the timing of it was kind of unfortunate.”

Senior Sara Salgado is just one senior on the choices list who feels the delay is unfair. She believes that if a student is displaying efforts to clear their absences, they shouldn’t be restricted by the delay.

“Just because you’re on the choices list, you shouldn’t have to pay more to go to a dance that all seniors are offered,” Salgado said. “Some people skip school for fun, but some people are just over school right now. If you’ve already proven that you’re going to Saturday school, I don’t think that they should have restricted [students] to the two-week delay.”

The choices list prevents seniors from participating in senior events, even if a student is actively trying to clear their absences, like Salgado. She explains that she’s trying to clear absences through other means, alongside Saturday school.

“It’s been kind of tough. I wanted to make up [Saturday school] hours during school because I don’t have a fifth period, and they said no. I’m trying to find other ways on how I can make up for my unexcused hours,” Salgado said.

Though there is no intent to remove the delay, Cobian believes that the choices list is a way to give students assistance. He emphasizes how the choices list are enacted with good intention and giving students opportunities to clear their absences is a school wide effort. 

“I want to know how we can better assist the students so they can come to class on time, and I want to know why they’re not coming to class,” Cobian said. “I’m very thankful to the teachers for being here and giving students the opportunity to clear their absences on Saturdays.”