Senior Banquet Navigates Post-Pandemic Inflation

By Gage Abdelmaseh ’23

With the Consumer Price Index recording an 8.5% increase in inflation from March 2021, there was no surprise that senior banquet tickets would be more expensive than previous years.

“At the beginning of the year the cost of tickets were not yet determined because we were unsure how much fundraising success we would be able to accomplish,” John Fitzpatrick, the senior class president for the Class of 2023, stated.

“We certainly expected a jump in price, given the current financial state of affairs and rising prices of food and labor,” Fitzpatrick said.  “However, it came as a surprise to all of us just how greatly this would impact ticket prices and sales.”

It was still a surprise when the numbers came in for people attending the senior banquet. Many seniors at East Longmeadow High School had made up their minds the second the price was announced. 

“The biggest factor, for me, was the costly price of the tickets,” Anthony Trinh, a senior at East Longmeadow said. “I also only knew about the banquet a day before the ticket purchase deadline was announced. If they were cheaper, I might’ve bought the tickets.”

And although Trinh wasn’t the only one that didn’t enjoy the price of this year’s banquet, others ignored the price and focused more on the moment with their friends.

“My plan is to just go with a group of friends and have a good time,” Nick Carlone stated. “Cost wasn’t too much of a thought in my head. I believe it isn’t even that bad. You get drinks and food for four hours worth of time.”

Fitzpatrick saw many reasons for why attendance was down. 

“Initially, I was surprised with the numbers we were seeing on the sign up sheets,” he said. However, upon further consideration, I believe this was a terrible combination of miscommunication and misinformation.

“Based on questions I had been fielding, I realized many don’t necessarily understand the concept of a ‘senior banquet’. Additionally, the amount of time given to students was incredibly brief and advertising was minimal. In fact, I had been unaware of the deadlines for payment until the Friday before the money was due.”

In spite of those who stayed home, about half the senior class attended the event.

“We were able to sell approximately 90 tickets this year. Our goal was roughly 100, so we weren’t too far below our goal,” Fitzpatrick said. “This is a concern which Ben Luu, my vice president, and I expressed at our last meeting. We were provided with an encouraging response, seemingly unconcerned with the effects of lower attendance at the banquet on the cost of our prom.”

And with the senior banquet quickly coming and going for East Longmeadow’s Class of 2023 seniors, John still urges that people participate with events that their grade runs, “It’s important for seniors to understand that if more students bought tickets to the banquet, it could potentially affect the price of prom tickets.”