Junior prom was scheduled for March 15, at the Hyatt Regency Ballroom in Waikiki. That afternoon, the Department of Education announced that spring break would be extended due to the dangers of coronavirus.

With such short notice, juniors who were uncomfortable attending prom were offered a refund. No one requested a refund and 161 students attended.

Students who went to prom said they had a great night. They danced the night away with their friends, making new memories, and not worrying about anything.

Junior Hang Vo said she didn’t want to miss junior prom because it’s an important high school experience.

“I feel really glad that I went to junior prom because I got to make memories with my friends before the virus started affecting school events,” she said.

Junior council member Kyanna Tran said she does not regret her decision to attend prom.

“I am very glad that I decided to go because I had an amazing time,” she said.

Because the coronavirus pandemic wasn’t too serious at the time, junior prom was something juniors wanted to remember from the year.

“I’m happy that I went because it’s a good way to end junior year with no one being able to go outside and hang out with friends,” junior Jayden Acosta said.

Junior Kanani Orta said she’s happy about her decision to attend prom.

“It was really fun and I did make great memories with all my friends,” she said.

Her favorite part of the night was “definitely the energy everyone had.”

Ocean Ko said attending was “a great decision because I sat with fun people.”

Junior Alea Baniaga also doesn’t regret attending prom.

“It’s a once in a life opportunity to go to junior prom and I wanted to spend the night with my friends,” Baniaga said.

Junior Anh Nguyen said she and her friends had been looking forward to prom and at the time didn’t expect the crisis to become such an issue.

“So we still carried on with our normal routines while getting ready,” she said. “I don’t regret it at all, though I do admit that I was anxious at the end of the night when Principal (Rom) Okamura gave us a speech about keeping safe throughout the break. He told us about how we should be grateful for still being able to attend prom, and I think we all were.”

Senior prom was canceled in April. Nguyen said she feels sad for them.

“My heart goes out to all the seniors who had their own prom canceled. I hope that all of them are okay and staying safe in their homes right now,” she said.

Changes in structure and information were made on 5/18/2020.