THOUGH IT’S ONLY APRIL, prom planning is already underway, and has been for months. Senior prom is as one senior said “their last hurrah” and the preparations show as much. Why plan so far in advance?

In response to this question, senior Hannah Mateus said that “it’s really important to pre-plan with whom you want to go with. You just want to make the week of prom fun.” That stress-free mentality appears to be a common trend: Almost everyone wants to make sure their limos are rented, tables are planned, and dresses are bought and posted to the Class of 2018 Instagram page.

However, some students, such as senior Isabel Harris, are “just going with the flow,” and not planning much in advance at all.

That being said, no matter how people are going about planning for prom, one thing is seen to be staying consistent: people are buying their dresses far in advance for the May date. Senior girls have reported buying their dresses back in November to as recently as April, to be posted onto the DHS Class of 2018 page.

Senior Kasey Mederios thinks that this program “is super helpful and beneficial for those who can not afford the high prices.”

Girls flood the many local dress stores from David’s Bridal at the Dartmouth Mall to Alexandra’s Boutique in Fall River in search of the perfect dress for the night. Although the options are plentiful and the racks upon racks of poofy tulle-lined skirts and satin gowns are seemingly endless, dress shopping is actually rather stressful.

There’s the pressing “what color theme” question that needs to be decided as well as picking a dress that will nicely complement shoes, hair, and jewelry. Long? Ball gown style? Sweetheart neckline? The possibilities for the perfect prom look are infinite, though there are, of course, limitations; mainly the cost of the dress.

Some dresses reach well into the upper hundreds, even thousands of dollars. The cost of prom dresses has escalated dramatically over the years, from the low hundreds on average in the 80s to the mid hundreds now. These sky high prices for floor length dresses is an unfortunate inconvenience to some. However, a program here at DHS is trying to address that problem.

The program was initiated by English Teacher Jessica Lassey, but she credits the idea to a few girls in the senior class, namely Olivia Aguiar and Morgan Oliveira. Ms. Lassey said that these girls were “concerned that some of their peers would not come to prom because they didn’t have a dress.” With this motive not to have any girl left behind because of a lack of a gown, they took the initiative to form a list of students (both current and former) who were willing to donate or loan a prom dress.

Ms. Fontes also got in on the action, offering her help and connections to local businesses and programs, who also donated dresses. There are also many statewide programs in Massachusetts, such as Belle of the Ball and Project Cinderella, that offer to help with the inconvenience. High school juniors and senior girls are offered dresses that are perfectly pristine and free of any charge. Surprisingly, not many have taken the opportunity this year, but it is still open to anyone in need of assistance.

Posters with more information about this new program can be found in many of the girls bathrooms, as well as the all-gender bathrooms. These flyers include tear away slips with contact information for Ms. Lassey. The idea appears to be resonating well among the senior girls.

Senior Kasey Mederios thinks that this program “is super helpful and beneficial for those who can not afford the high prices.”

Senior Isabel Harris agrees, believing that the programs would “definitely make the glamorous part of prom more accessible to everyone.”