Prom will be held this year at Union Square’s Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, allowing a single space that places all attendees together and promises exciting entertainment. – Courtesy of SFPhotorama.com through Creative CommonsThis year’s prom will be held at the Westin Saint Francis Hotel in San Francisco’s Union Square. The venue was chosen for its flexibility, allowing all attendees to be on the same level, according to seniors Jack Smale, who heads the Associated Student Body Prom Committee, and John Brunett, who is a member of the same committee.

The biggest changes between this year’s prom and last year’s is the single space of the venue and the entertainment, according to Smale.

“Prom will be in a hotel this year and not on a boat, which means the entire school will be able to both eat and dance all in the same room,” Smale said. “We’ve also got a lot of flexibility with the venue space. A lot of great options for entertainment at prom have presented themselves.”

Brunett seconds that the difference in venue changes the entertainment factor significantly.

“Prom Committee is reviewing the options for entertainment, which is high on our list this year because we don’t have the luxury of being on a boat and having the great views all around to occupy people’s time,” Brunett said.

Brunett said ASB has chosen not to release any details about the entertainment; with several different options in the air, he said that the biggest factor at this point is cost and practicality.

While ticket prices are not finalized, the committee’s goal is to keep it under 100 dollars, according to Smale.

ASB has chosen not to release any details about food or entertainment, according to Brunett and Smale.

“More information on that will definitely come soon though,” Smale said.

ASB continues to deliberate over all the details of the event after meeting with a group of about 20 seniors, whom Smale asked to share what they wanted this year from prom. From there, ASB developed specific criteria for this year’s prom, which included things that needed improvement and things they felt were important to them, according to Smale.

The choice that the committee made for the location was most consistent with what the group wanted.

“The Westin Saint Francis fit the criteria the Paly Community was looking for most,” Smale said.

Brunett said he is most excited for this year’s prom due to the work Smale has done to respond to the group’s feedback from last year. The location is a part of this attention to the Paly students’ wishes by the committee.

“The Westin is great,” Brunett continued. “When we took our trip to San Francisco, the classy atmosphere really took us by surprise. The Westin on Union Square was a grand slam for us.”

Editor’s Note: The story originally stated that details such as the theme and food were not finalized, and therefore could not be released. In reality, the details have been finalized but ASB is choosing to withhold that information from the public. The current version of the story reflects this change.