Ferris will be holding its first-ever Second Chance Prom on Friday, Feb. 16, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the David L. Eisler Center Ballrooms.
This event was put together by Diversity Advocacy for Identity and Sexuality Empowerment. Along with the collaboration of Education Counseling and Disabilities Services, Ready for Life and the LGBTQ+ Resource Center.
Social work junior Al Alley is the president and founder of DAISE. Alley is very excited to create a safe space for everyone at the Second Chance Prom.
“This is an opportunity for really anybody who didn’t have a chance to have a safe, affirming or accepting place at high school dances,” Alley said. “We are kind of catering it towards people with disabilities as well as LGBTQ folks, since those are two populations that most commonly didn’t have a chance to have that space for them in high school.”
Alley also explained how the Second Chance Prom tradition can span back almost forty years. It was a tradition that has almost always been a part of the LGBTQ community, but this time around they wanted to include the disabled community as well. Alley hopes that this dance will become a Ferris tradition for years to come.
“I think it’s really important to make space for folks who did not necessarily have space to celebrate themselves, their relationships and their partners or even just to have a place to express themselves in formal wear,” Alley said. “Even if just a couple of people show up and have a good time in a way they weren’t able to in high school, that would be enough for me.”
Director of Accessibility and Disability Services Julie Alexander loved the idea of the second chance prom when Alley pitched it to her.
“You know a lot of people missed out on their prom for a number of reasons,” Alexander said. “Sometimes those with disabilities, especially physical disabilities. Maybe felt like prom wasn’t for them, like it was not designed with them in mind or they may have felt like nobody wanted to take them on a date. So, this is a chance for people who didn’t feel included to go through the process and not miss out on all the fun.”
Alexander hopes that this event is a way to make both those in the LGBTQ and disabled community feel a sense of belonging here at Ferris.
“I think it’s very easy to not feel like you belong,” Alexander said. “I know that some of the students that I work with who have disabilities haven’t really found their people yet, and this would be a chance to feel more included and to have a more accepting community. It’s not an academic event, it’s not a support group type of thing, it’s a fun event where hopefully they can make some friends and have a good time.”
Public relations senior Faith Oom is excited that she was given a second chance for a prom since she wasn’t able to have one during her senior year of high school due to COVID-19.
She believes that this event will be a huge turning point for the LGBTQ community because it offers current students a safe space, as well as showing future Ferris students that they can have a space safe here also.
“It will show everyone that we are here and that we also deserve a chance to have fun,” Oom said. “It will also show that anyone can have fun with the LGBTQ community and that we aren’t terrible people, we are just here to dance and have a good time.”
For anyone hesitant to attend the event, Oom wants them to know that this event will be a space full of love and laughter.
“If you are scared to go, somebody else is probably going to be just as scared as you are,” Oom said. “I think that it will be valuable time and something that they’ll be able to look back on for many years to come.”
The event will span three hours of catering, drag performances, a DJ, a photo booth and dancing. For help finding formal wear for the event, stop by the LGBTQ+ Resource Center.