No More Limos for MHS Prom

Millburn High School's annual senior prom is Thursday, but you won't be seeing limos throughout town picking up those attending the dance.

Instead, those attending the prom will be taking a bus from the high school to Skylands of Randolph for the dance. Buses leave at 6 p.m., after a pre-prom party on the front lawn starting at 5 p.m., and will leave the prom at 10 p.m.

A year ago, the current senior class was bused to their junior prom at the Hilton Short Hills, taking away the limo option. Millburn High School Principal Bill Miron said parents liked the way it worked a year ago. "More and more schools are doing something like this," he said.

The changes to this year's event were made for several reasons, he said. There is pressure on students about the limo ride to the prom, and the buses would relieve that pressure. "Apparently there is some drama of who is in whose limo," he said. "This helps solve that problem."

But it's also a way to control the partying that can surround the prom, including the consumption of alcohol. Miron said they want to discourage the pre-prom activities where students may be drinking at a party or in a limo on the way to the prom. "It's one thing to take a few photos of the couple, but it's another when it becomes an event that involves drinking," he said. "Our message is we don't condone those activities, but there is only so much we can do."

For the first time this year, seniors signed a contract that includes the rules about not drinking or being drunk at the prom with a list of the consequences. "It's a reminder of what's in the handbook," Miron said.

The contract also lists the consequences of what could happen if a student breaks the rules, which includes being held out of senior activities after the prom. Miron said for the first time that includes not being allowed to attend the graduation ceremony on Monday. Plus a student will not be allowed on the bus to attend the prom if they show up at the high school drunk, Miron said.

There wasn't any one incident at last year's prom, although there have been times when seniors have been caught drunk or drinking at the prom in the past. Those students were not allowed to attend some activities like the senior cruise in the past, Miron said.

"We're hoping we have better monitoring of the situation," Miron said, also saying school officials never were able to do so until students showed up at the prom.

If a student is suspected of consuming alcohol, they are sent for a blood screening to determine if that is the case. Miron said state law states refusing to take the test is treated like admitting guilt and a student will still face consequences.