It’s Party Time

Though I graduated a few (ahem) years ago from high school, I still remember the excitement of attending my prom. I’m sure CVHS seniors feel much the same way; CV’s prom is this Saturday, May 19.

My prom was held in a hotel in Hollywood (I can’t for the life of me remember where exactly). I do remember, though, that after the prom ended around midnight, there wasn’t much to do, given the ages of my date and I (I think we were 18). We were too young for clubs and movie theaters were already closed. Thankfully, the night ended safely for us and we woke up to the sun the next morning.

But that wasn’t the case in 1991. CVHS senior Berlyn Cosman, was with a group of friends at an unsupervised post-prom hotel party. While she slept in an adjoining room, a former student came into the room and, seemingly without cause, shot and killed her.

Berlyn’s death was the birth of Prom Plus, an after-prom party that is held at the YMCA for CVHS seniors and their guests. I’ve been part of Prom Plus for nearly 20 years and have seen attendance to the event grow to the point where nearly 70% of kids who attend prom head to Prom Plus.

And why wouldn’t they? We have plenty to do from midnight to 5 a.m. A mechanical bull, rock climbing wall, bungee run, laser tag, zipline and casino are waiting for them. And food – plenty of food – to keep them going until the last prize is distributed around 5 a.m.

This party costs around $25,000 a year to put on (we don’t charge prom goers anything to attend and only $20 for non-prom seniors to attend). But we’re able to raise the money every year because our parents and community members realize how important it is to keep our kids safe.

Like you, I think our kids are important and, as publisher of this newspaper, I don’t want to ever put on my front page that any child was killed because nothing was offered to them.

Prom Plus – saving lives one prom at a time. Be part of the solution. www.promplus.org.

  robin goldsworthy