Second Chance Prom returns to Talley

From deep blue lights to bubble-like balloons and fish-themed centerpieces, Talley’s Coastal Ballroom reflected its name in decor last Sunday as over 150 students funneled in to attend the GLBT Community Alliance’s second consecutive Second Chance prom.

Sadie Reese, a second-year studying biology, said the organizers improved the event after bringing back Second Chance Prom last year.

“We made it a lot better,” Reese said. “We had a theme this year. We had a lot more people, and it's been really nice building upon it and knowing we can keep doing it next year.”

Second Chance Prom is an event designed to “provide LGBTQ+ students the experience of a high school prom in an inclusive environment.”

This year’s theme was “under the sea,” which Kit Wiedenfeld, a second-year studying horticulture, said was specifically chosen to inspire LGBTQ+ students.

“It's vague enough I feel like people can really go hard, or they can really put their heart and soul into their outfits, their makeup, their presentation, which is why I was really excited about this theme,” Wiedenfeld said.

Last year was the GLBTCA’s first Second Chance prom since the COVID-19 pandemic. Junho Yu, a fourth-year studying biology and GLBTCA president, said they learned a lot from last year — especially when it comes to fundraising.

“We were able to raise a lot of money, and we're not as reliant on as much of what we did last year,” Yu said. “We were just kind of getting together knowing what to do.”

The LGBTQ Pride Center focused on fundraising Feb. 29, via a drag show at Ruby Deluxe, which gave very little time for planning the prom itself. Wiedenfeld said the entire process was stressful.

“Even though we did meet every week to make sure everything was still on track, which helped a lot, it was very stressful with the little bit of time that we had to put everything together,” Wiedenfeld said.

Accessibility was another priority of the Second Chance Prom organizers, who wanted the space to be available for anyone to attend. They provided balcony spaces to allow students to decompress if overstimulated and gave students an option to wear a wristband signifying they didn’t want their picture taken.

Sarah Tolman, a fourth-year studying forestry and civil engineering, said accessibility was a major reason Second Chance prom was so important.

“I mean, one of the reasons why I didn't like prom is because it was so overstimulating,” Tolman said. “So, one of the great things about this space is it is a very accepting space.”

For the GLBTCA members, providing the Second Chance prom as an option to students was important due to a variety of prom-related attendance barriers that affected students during high school, such as expense or presentation. 

Sana Sekhaven, a second-year studying fashion and textile management, said Second Chance prom was important to her because it broke these barriers.

“I think it holds a lot of weight to me because one: prom was so expensive in high school and this is a free event that we host, and two: I was not able to present as myself during high school,” Sekhaven said. “And this was a really good opportunity coming in my freshman year where I was able to do that.”