Tam’s 2018 prom was held on May 26 at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Though prom planning included all of the basics — DJ, photo booth, food — there were three things about this prom that stood out, according to student, teacher planners and attendees.

One was the venue. Event coordinator and senior Gabriel Tolson said that the Academy of Sciences made planning the prom more simple. “Most of the stuff with the venue was already there, it really didn’t take too much planning. Just took a couple meetings between me and senior class counsel. Last year they probably spent a lot more time and energy on decor,” he said.

Students generally agreed. “I thought the venue was really nice … for people to explore and people were kind of spread out but still together,” junior Shanzeh Iqbal said.

Another was online ticket sales: This was the first year that Tam offered students ticket sales online through the school’s website, which dramatically increased the number of early bird sales for 75 dollars.

“We had record sales on the early bird special day and I think the convenience of being able to buy a ticket on your own time vs when the office was open or between classes helped students manage their time more efficiently,” ASB advisor and English teacher LesLeigh Golson said.

A third thing was record numbers of sales (student and guest). There were a record 704 tickets sold this year, a large increase from the usual 600 tickets that have been typically sold in the past few years. About 100 of the tickets sold were for guests from other schools. The new online sales and the draw of the venue were likely responsible for the record, according to event organizers.

Photo by Ethan Swope.