For the second year in a row, students attending Prom will be required to submit to a breathalyzer test in order to attend. The test returns from last year, its inaugural, having been “effective” according to Principal Chris Mayfield.

“We really began this process last year going, ‘What are the steps we can take to try to make sure that it’s a safe and fun night for everybody?” Mayfield said. “Knowing that nights like Prom often have a reputation where kids may make some choices that might be harmful to them.”

The idea for the breathalyzers came when administration looked at the measures that surrounding school districts had used to discourage drug and alcohol use prior to the dance.

“We talked to [the other districts] and [breathalyzers] had been effective, and so we used it last year, and it was very effective for us,” Mayfield said. “We did not have a single student that blew positive.”

Despite their effectiveness in 2018, students like junior Reagan Matacale describe the process as “inconvenient.”

“I think they are unnecessary because it’s not fair to make the whole student body [take a breathalyzer test] because of a small occurrence,”  Matacale said. “From what I know, nobody drinks before prom.”