Schools
UW-Waukesha's Pride Alliance Hosting Pride Prom 2012
The prom at Waukesha college provides an opportunity for gay teens, interracial couples, or anyone who may not have felt comfortable at their high school prom to dress up and attend a campus dance.
Editor's Note: The following article was provided to Patch via UW-Waukesha.
Pride Prom 2012: Black & White with a Splash of Color, an event that celebrates diversity and welcomes all, will take place from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, April 14, at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha in the Hub.
Sponsored by Pride Alliance, the second annual Pride Prom provides an opportunity for gay teens, interracial couples, or anyone who may not have felt comfortable at their high school prom to dress up and attend a campus dance. Wisconsin college students, local high school seniors, parents, teachers, allies, and community members are all encouraged to attend.
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The event will include a DJ, dance floor, karaoke, professional photographs, light refreshments, and Prom King/Queen contests. Tickets are free for UW-Waukesha students and faculty/staff chaperones, and $5 for all other attendees.
More than 150 people came to the inaugural Pride Prom last year. Members of the Pride Alliance were nervous before the event started and wondered if anyone would come, said co-president Paige Feldstein. Afterward, however, the Pride Alliance wondered why they had not put on such an event sooner.
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“So many people came out to support this,” Feldstein said.
She explained the event is similar and different from traditional high school proms.
“It’s like the elaborate prom experience but cheaper and more open,” Feldstein said.
Going with the prom’s theme of Black & White with a Splash of Color, she plans to dye her hair a “crazy color” and wear a tea-length, black and white dress.
Jessica Jokela, public relations officer for the Pride Alliance, said the Pride Prom provides a haven for people who didn’t feel welcome at their high school proms.
“It’s great to see people’s excitement and to have the ability to express yourself while sticking to the traditional prom experience,” she said.
Faculty co-advisor Lisa Hager said the event served two main purposes. “It gives them the opportunity to experience that rite of passage, and that’s important,” she said. “And it shows UW-Waukesha to be a welcoming place, and that’s important also.”
For more information, go to the Pride Prom’s Facebook event page: www.facebook.com/events/368215293190572.
