OXFORD – What do you get when you decorate a high school gym with voluminous amounts of gossamer and tulle? A gym.

No matter how you dress it up, prom just doesn’t feel like prom when it is held in the same high school gym that every other dance is held in.

Members of the Junior Class Prom Committee successfully made that point to the Oxford School Board on Monday night. After a detailed presentation, they were granted permission to hold their Junior Prom at the Canasawacta Country Club in Norwich. It is the first time in the modern history of the school that students have been allowed to hold the event off campus.

Representing the Prom Committee at the board of education meeting were Oxford Juniors Kim Shackelton, Jaime Smolcnop and Ashley Nichols and class advisor Tim Calice. They came armed with information gathered from student and faculty surveys as well as historical data from other schools. Their legwork paid off.

Having the prom at the Country Club would make it a “once in a lifetime memorable event,” said Shackelton, whereas holding it in the high school gym would be “nothing different” from other dances held throughout the year.

At past proms, she said, students have driven as far as Oneonta or Binghamton to have dinner in small groups, some spending upwards of $50 per person for the meal.

“We can have our whole class there to have dinner together,” said Shackelton. Having the formal dinner and dance together, would actually save money for some, and make the prom as an experience for the entire class to enjoy together, the junior explained.

Shackelton said that the prom committee has agreed to use some of the money raised for decorations to subsidize the cost for class members who might have trouble affording the prom.

According to Shackelton, the prom committee surveyed current Juniors and Seniors to gauge their interest in having the prom at an alternate location.

“More people are willing to go if we have it someplace else,” she reported.

The junior also stated that teachers and staff members at the school are in support of the idea as well. “They believe students will behave better,” said Shackelton.

Although plans have not been finalized for the After Prom Party, the junior class is hoping to have it once again at the Norwich YMCA.