Senior Class in Debt

Katie DeLorey, Veritas Editor-in-Chief

The senior class is in debt from the actions of some attendees of the Junior Prom in May. The prom was held at the Indian Pond Country Club in Kingston where some who attended the prom flushed nearly sixty nip bottles down the toilet wrecking the venue’s plumbing system.

Dr. Alan Cron, principal of RHS, said that he was later informed that the plumbing system was ruined causing “approximately $13,000 in damage.”

“The plumbing system was clogged, and it damaged some ceiling and carpeting,” said Dr. Cron.

After hearing the news, some students were horrified that their class could have been responsible for so much damage, not only to the venue, but also to the school and the town’s name.

Junior Prom, May 2014 at the Indian Pond Country Club

Senior Vice President Alex Pigeon says she felt awful about the whole incident.

“I could not believe how much damage was caused just in plumbing alone. After we heard that a wedding was to be taking place the next day,  I felt terrible for the bride and her guests.”

Alex said, “I knew something had to be done. The class officers and I drove to Indian Pond to apologize in person.”

When Dr. Cron heard that the class officers did this he was pleased.

“I was very proud of the leadership shown by the student council members who were outraged, and their willingness to travel to Indian Pond and personally apologize on behalf of this school.”

Senior Class President Dennis McPeck said,“The woman we spoke with was very understanding and appreciated the officers’ apology. She even said that she would allow us to go back to Indian Pond again.”

The apology was a great gesture that  made some amends; however, there was still the issue of paying for the damage.

The big question was, where was all that money going to come from?

“The Class of 2015 contributed $3,800; the rest of the bill was paid by the school, about $10,000,” said Dr. Cron.

The Class of 2015’s account was drained.

McPeck says, “I believe our class should be held responsible for the damages, but now our class is about $300 in debt which makes things difficult like booking a prom venue. In order to book a prom venue, we need to give a deposit, and we don’t have the money right now to book a venue.”

The only solution is for the class to hold fundraisers.

“If everyone in our class helps out just a little for each fundraiser, we will be fine. Everyone just needs to participate or else prom could be in the gym, if we can even afford that,” says McPeck.

As for future dances, new precautions were immediately put in place for the Senior Prom that followed in May.

Dr. Cron commented on the changes that will continue to be enforced throughout this school year.

“Boys and girls will line up, and administration will check bags and coats, and have random breathalyzers. Also, more administration will be on duty, and we will have someone in the bathroom almost all the time,” he said.

Dr. Cron said, “I’m not nervous at all for the Class of 2015. This was an individual mistake, and good people make bad choices. The class as a whole is outstanding and it only takes a couple people to make a bad choice.”

Dr. Cron concluded, “It sounds cliché but things happen and how we react to them shows our character; we did not pretend like everything was fine. We told the students what happened, we dealt with the consequences and we’re moving on.”

For more background on the Junior Prom and the alcohol problem,  go to our June 10 post.