West Essex juniors attending prom this month will now be allowed to invite students from other grades and other schools, the school announced in an email sent May 26. Principal Caesar Diliberto lifted previous restrictions placed due to COVID-19 safety protocols from the state and CDC.

“I was shocked that they opened it up to everyone, but I’m happy they did because this means more things are getting back to normal,” junior Lily Satz said. 

Although deadlines for the prom contract and payment have been extended to Friday, June 4 in order to accommodate the new guests, some wish they would have been notified sooner.  

“I think it’s a really good idea but I think they should have opened it sooner if possible because people already started to plan and are now stressing about changes,” junior Kyla Shamosh said. 

Diliberto also disclosed in the email that contact tracing for COVID-19 will not be possible at the event. This means any who attend and are not vaccinated will have to quarantine if there are any cases after the event. For seniors, this could mean not being able to attend graduation. 

In hopes for a more normal prom experience, students are overall pleased with the new regulations for the event. Although there are still a few restrictions, students will still be able to attend this landmark high school moment.