The Value of a Second Chance Prom
By Lillith Rengstorf
One of my favorite things about being in a college LGBT Alliance is realizing new things about my own community. I had known about second chance proms for several years, but as someone who absolutely loved my own high school dances, I never attended, and never quite understood the importance of these events. This all changed for me at the end of March. The LGBT alliance that I am on the executive board for at my university hosted our annual second chance prom. These events are hosted so that people who couldn’t attend their own prom, can have a chance to go. Talking to various people that attended our event really drove home for me just how important this event is. Some people were seniors in high school during the COVID pandemic and didn’t have a prom. Some of them were not able to attend because of unaccepting parents or friend groups while they were transitioning, or even, they just didn’t like their high school and didn’t want to go to their prom.
Looking back on this event, while it was important to host for people to have a second chance at attending prom (hence the name), I also think these types of events provide a source of community that many people in the LGBT community sometimes miss. Especially on college campuses, it is difficult to find events or parties that are not part of the fraternity scene and are not centered around drinking. The prom that we hosted had music and dancing and food, but we also had quieter areas for people to sit and talk. I absolutely loved seeing my friends be able to be themselves, dress how they wanted to, and have fun with their significant others.
While some may argue that proms or school dances are superfluous or not a necessary experience… I disagree. I think that providing these opportunities for LGBT youth or young adults to get dressed up, eat fun appetizers, take pictures with friends, and dance to bad pop music is so important. In my own experience in a college town and on a college campus, I feel like so many LGBTQ+ spaces are confined to bars or advocacy events, and there is so much more to being LGBT Q+ than these things. For underage LGBTQ+ college students, this makes finding a community and finding friends difficult, when the only events happening are of a more serious nature. I do understand that having said advocacy or education events is crucial to the community, however I think that hosting events like second chance proms is also one of the most important things for our community. I didn’t think like this until I had the opportunity this year to host and attend the second chance prom, which just goes to show how important they are. You don’t know if you don’t try things. As someone who did go to their school dances, I didn’t understand why events like second chance prom were important, and now I do.
About the Author
Lilith Rengstorf is from Northwest Indiana, and recently graduated from Valpo High School. She will be attending Butler University for Biology in the fall. Lilith uses she/they pronouns and has been publicly out as bisexual for around two years. In their free time Lilith enjoys reading, sewing, and knitting.
