OWOSSO, Mich. — It's officially prom season for high schoolers, but what if you had the chance to choose what type of prom you wanted to go to?
That's exactly what one local high schooler wanted to do.
It all started when students at Owosso High School were called into an assembly to learn about the rules of their prom. Dakota Garrison says he saw students weren't pleased, so he took matters into his own hands and held the second "prom" on Saturday night.
"Actually I had a girl next to me and she was like 'wow, I'd rather go to any other prom than this.' And I was like, maybe I'll just make one," Owosso senior Dakota Garrison said.
Owosso's prom took place a few weeks ago. Garrison says the prom was on a Friday and in Saginaw, so girls were worried about being able to be ready in time. On top of that, he says the music was regulated, and students could not leave the school's prom once they were there until it ended. Garrison says it was for these reasons that he wanted to give his classmates an alternative.
"I thought about it later that night and I was like, I'm going to make a prom. So I got home and I mad an Instagram page and kind of kicked it off. I made a post to see if anyone would interact with it."
Garrison used his own money to rent a venue and hire a DJ. The tickets for the alternative "prom" were $10 less than the school's prom tickets. There were also chaperones, including Owosso's Mayor. Garrison's friend, and "right-hand man" as he calls him, helped pull off the event. He says he is proud of how it turned out.
"I think that's why we're so proud, that it happened so fast. That we could get everything ready and everyone was involved. We had the biggest support about it," Owosso senior Jalen Waters said.
Garrison says the school wasn't happy about the event, so he tried to be respectful by holding it on a different date. Still, he says about 75 people showed up, and he has no regrets.
"Everyone that I asked, no one had complaints. Everyone had fun. That's what I was happy about," Garrison said.
Both students say everyone was respectful at the event and there weren't any problems. FOX 47 News reached out to Owosso Schools about the prom. We'll let you know if we get a response.
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