Masuk Free Press

At Masuk, prom isn’t held in the same location every year. Instead, the highly-anticipated event alternates between two venues: the Amber Room in Danbury, and the Waterview here in Monroe. While the ticket prices and dress code remain fairly consistent, the experience can vary because not all venues are created equal. Now that Masuk’s seniors have officially attended prom at both locations, the question is: which is on top?

When polled for their preferences, Masuk’s seniors, current and graduated, almost split evenly down the middle. But, despite the close call, the Amber Room won with a close 52.9 percent of the votes. 

The Amber Room Colonnade is definitely a “hear me out” venue. Most students, myself included, were off-put by the irregularly long commute to the venue (half an hour, barring any traffic). But once arrived, you’re greeted with a nice venue and beautiful outdoor space for photos. When asked to explain their preference, many Amber Room fans complimented the venue’s buffet-style dinner service.

While the Amber Room’s dinner service was legitimately good, the dinner experience at the Waterview undoubtedly made it seem worlds better. On prom night, the Waterview attempted to deliver dinner via table service. This should have worked to the venue’s merit, elevating the experience and putting students’ ticket money to good use, yet it turned out to work in the contrary. At prom, there is a universally understood schedule: photos, mingling, dinner, and dancing. The Waterview, to many students’ dismay and confusion, disrupted this schedule. Dinner didn’t start to come out until 8 p.m., two entire hours after the event started. This left prom-goers in limbo, with most deciding to hit the dance floor early. This shouldn’t have been too big of an issue, but when the food started rolling out, it happened entirely too slowly. They waited the tables in sections, and because my table was one of the first up, I was finished eating before 75 percent of my peers had even been served. This left awkward gaps on the dance floor, and hindered the natural flow of the night. 

It seems that Masuk’s seniors approved of the Amber Room’s buffet-style dinner service, providing a quicker and smoother experience. And I can only agree that the food was better at the Amber Room, as the Waterview’s dinner left many, including myself, dissatisfied.

Along with the food, respondents also seemed to prefer the dance floor at the Amber Room. Dancing is a big part of prom, so it only makes sense that this factor holds a lot of weight. It seems that seniors were unimpressed with the dance floor at the Waterview, because, for whatever reason, the dance floor was long. Skinny. Seniors commented that due to the “oblong” shape, they found themselves constantly pushed and shoved off of the dance floor, and getting stuck at the outskirts. The Amber Room doesn’t have this problem, as the dance floor was an acceptable length and width, and just about large enough to accommodate all of Masuk Prom. 

Most of the students who preferred the Waterview reported that the decorations were nicer and more elaborate. This is a credit to neither of the venues, as the student government is in charge of decorations. Seniors also appreciated that the Waterview felt more spacious, and that there was more room to walk around and socialize. 

Regardless of the close polling results, numbers don’t lie, and the Amber Room is the reigning venue. According to seniors, most of the Waterview’s merit came from the decorations and extra details (i.e. shirley temple stations, popcorn, etc.) which is to the sole credit of student government and its advisors. The venue is a big part of the prom experience, and who knows, maybe Masuk will rotate in some new venues in the next couple of years.