The prom dreams of several students at a South Jersey high school could be shattered this year due to a limited number of tickets.
- Construction Project Aims to Protect Pedestrians on Roosevelt Boulevard
- Hundreds Ineligible for Prom at Local School
The prom committee at Bordentown Regional High School in Bordentown, New Jersey chose the Adventure Aquarium in Camden as the venue. They soon ran into a problem however when they learned that the venue could only hold 300 people.
While there are currently around 300 Junior and Seniors at Bordentown High, several dates and chaperones outside of the school still planned to attend. As a result, many students at the school were told they couldn’t attend after the tickets were sold out.
One of those students was David Gappa, a Bordentown Senior. Gappa says he already bought his tux and his girlfriend bought her dress.
“The person before me got the last ticket and they said no more tickets after that,” Gappa said.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Gappa claims he spent close to $400 preparing for the prom.
“I was heartbroken,” said David’s mother, Melissa Doran. “I mean he’s worked so hard. He cut his last lawn on Saturday. Last $40 he needed for his prom tickets.”
The prom committee members told students that tickets would be first come first serve. Joe Miller, the school district’s Interim Superintendent, says he’s unsure how the situation was allowed to happen.
“Perhaps it was an unwise decision to choose a place that did not have enough capacity for our student body and their dates,” Miller said.
Miller says he plans on calling Adventure Aquarium to ask if they could extend the capacity.
“It would mean so much to me,” Gappa said. “I would love to go.”
Students who were able to get tickets had a mixed reaction to the controversy.
“It’s really not fair,” said Lauren Sontupe, a Junior at the school. “Other schools have a Junior/Senior prom separately and everyone can go.”
“Maybe they should have thought ahead of time,” said Gabrielle Peters, Vice President of her class. “I thought ahead of time. I got my dress and I bought my ticket. But I could assure you that next year’s class, 2015, will have enough room for everyone to go to prom.
