By Jonah Morello |

The Omni Hotel at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut is one of the most prestigious hotels within the Shoreline Area. It boasts many accolades and awards, making it an AAA Three Diamond Hotel and one of the Elm City’s best hotel for the past few years. The Omni serves as a place for many business meetings and events, as well as a place for traveling guests to stay. However, the Omni does not only serve these purposes everyday, but on Friday, May 30th, the Omni will play host to The Morgan School’s senior prom. After much review and planning, the Omni was selected and approved at the end of the last academic year by many of the senior class officers, as well as class president PaulMichael Mullaly. When asked about why The Omni was chosen, he responded, “Its affordable, yet distant enough from Clinton for it to be worth students to rent limos or party buses if they wish…it also has a wonderful ambience right in the middle of downtown New Haven, for a fantastic price.”

The location of the senior prom is vital to making the night a memorable one. Location has to be considered along with distance, security, and the dates that the location is available. For our school, the distance limit given is no more than 30 minutes from the school. The school does not allow any further, so many of our options were eliminated because of this rule. Another item that must be attended to is security. The school has to have a resource officer present at the event, and the location itself has to be safe for attendees and chaperons. Bags are checked upon entry, and you are breathalyzed before entering the event itself, so be ready and make smart decisions. You don’t want your night to be ruined because of a silly mistake on your part.

The last piece considered when selecting a location is the dates that the location is available. This is one of the reasons we book a year in advance, as many places fill up fast with other events, especially with Prom falling in the early summer time. The dates available are important as they can determine whether the prom is on a Friday or Saturday. Based upon the dates the location is available, the committee selects the appropriate and most convenient date for the class. In this year’s case, a Friday was selected to serve as the memorable night.

Although many locations were considered, the Omni came out on top in the end. With locations such as Eolia Mansion in Waterford and Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown being considered, it was a tough decision. Recently, I asked Senior Vice President Liz Bradley exactly how tough the decision was on the class’ behalf. She said, “The decision to choose where you hold your prom is always a little tough, especially since it’s our senior prom. It gets tricky because as a leader of your class, you want to try and please everyone, but at the same time you know that not everyone is going to be happy. It’s impossible. Fortunately this year after we chose the Omni, the whole grade was supportive. We chose the Omni over everything else because it is super nice, and the location was far enough away where we can take party buses or limos up!” With the decision of the Omni, the other venues such as Eolia Mansion and Wadsworth Mansion were eliminated due to distance and cost. However, the Omni is a great and new location for prom. No class from The Morgan School has ever held a prom there, making this night to come even more memorable as it will be a first time experience. The Omni boasts four ballrooms in total, which all provide much space for all attendees, as well as exquisite food that everyone can enjoy. PaulMichael also stated that, “It [The Omni] provides an extensive buffet package that will fit everyone’s tastes and likes. Although we haven’t selected what will be served, we have seen the options and they look really good.”

As prom season approaches, the senior class’ night at the Omni grows closer day by day. Although it may seem early, it’s always good to have an idea of who you want to ask and how you want to ask them. Not only does location make the night memorable, but the person you take has the biggest impact on your night. Make sure you pick someone who you can have fun with and enjoy talking to. If you need any tips on asking someone to Prom, check out this article called Everything You Want to Know About Prom written last year by Katt Wilkinson. It has a ton of tips, that will help everyone and anyone.

You and your date will have a great time, as The Omni is a fantastic venue for prom. The night will surely be one to remember for anyone that goes. PaulMichael and the prom committee also have a few tricks up there sleeves as he stated, “We possibly have plans to have a cupcake truck come to The Omni. If that doesn’t work to our liking, we also have a plan to purchase cupcakes and have a cupcake tower as part of the dessert option for the night.” He also adds, “We have yet to pick a DJ. We also have yet to set a ticket price. But that will come within the next few months as we get closer to the date.” If you would like to be part of the selection process on Thursday, February 6th, the senior class will be holding a meeting at 7:15 A.M. in room 53, Mrs. Whittle’s room. If you need more information on the meeting, check out the class Facebook Page. So, ladies and gentlemen, as senior prom edges closer get ready for a memorable night at the one and only Omni Hotel!