To distract themselves from the bracing, cold rejections from colleges such as the Ivy League and the UC system, Dublin High seniors decided to shift their attention to a much more cheery, accepting event: senior ball.

The senior ball dance was planned to be at Exploratorium (a science museum in San Francisco), on the night of April 14, 2018. Students had already started asking their fellow peers, picking out their tuxedos and dresses, and planning to spend the night with their best friends.

However, last night, the administrators at Dublin High made a shocking decision to cancel senior ball altogether.

Dublin High administrators discussed the senior class’ poor attendance and the emergence of a rare condition called senioritis. They reasoned that if the students could not show up to school on a school day, then they would not come to senior ball as well. Additionally, they did not feel like working on Saturday. Instead, they planned an administrator bonding event: mini golfing.

When asked about this decision, assistant principal Lenni Velez said, “I’ve been to senior ball for the last ten years. I’ve been to enough senior balls – I need a break.”

As the news quickly spread within Dublin High’s senior population, many students were devastated. Madison Colangelo, a Dublin High senior, told the Dublin Shield, “I am heartbroken. It’s a rite of passage of all seniors, and we’ve been anticipating it all year. It’s one of the last events of senior year, and I think we all need that night of fun together before graduation.”

Senior James Wang seemed pretty upset about the news. In an interview, he told the Shield, “Darn. Oof. There goes all my money down the drain. And the time I invested in preparing for the night of high school.”

Another Dublin High senior, Simonne Campos, was horrified. She exclaimed, “I didn’t spend this much money on a dress for a nonexistent night.”

Campos was not the only student who had concerns for the amount of money spent on the dance. The students typically spent one hundred twenty dollars to one hundred fifty dollars for a ticket. Senior Kylie Burke asked, “Am I getting a refund?”.

Senior Muhammed Constantino thought exactly like Burke. He questioned, “Do I get my one hundred fifty dollars back?”

Unfortunately for these seniors, the answer is no. The venue is still booked, and the some of the money paid for senior ball tickets will be used to pay for the booking at Exploratorium. The remaining money will be given to the senior class.

Other students were concerned not only about the price of a ticket, but the price of a dress, which could add up to hundreds of dollars. Arianna Feemster looked on the bright side and breathed a sigh of relief, stating, “Thank God I didn’t buy a dress.”

The Dublin Shield Editor-in-Chief Ashley vented passionately, “What?! I already bought a dress. I can’t believe this!”

The students not going to ball had a different reaction. Although shocked, senior Jaiveer Singh was relieved, telling the Dublin Shield, “Good thing I didn’t buy tickets anyways.”

However, seniors, don’t worry! Senior class treasurer, Mayzin Kung, has plans to recreate senior ball for the class she loves so much with the remaining money. In an interview with the Shield, she said, “We [the senior class officers] would make good use of the money and still make a night that the senior class wouldn’t forget.”

She then added, “I would do this because I know that everyone, from the moment they enter high school, looks forward to their senior ball and it’s just one of those monumental high school events that you can’t miss.”