1. Atmosphere
So as much we both love Olathe, Kansas, a ball in the middle of Washington, D.C. has a little different feel than a prom in suburban Kansas City. This was first apparent at dinner. To start the night off, we met one of my good friends from school, Jonathan, and his wife Sandy on the Metro and rode downtown to the McPherson Square (White House) stop. Walking out of the tunnel to face the lit up White House is pretty cool in itself, but to make it even greater, the restaurant we were eating at – The Old Ebbitt Grill – was right across the street. Eating dinner in the heart of D.C. with the view of the White House was great way to start off the night. We had a blast and the food was great – I personally recommend the Chesapeake Bay Rockfish.
History Lesson #1: The Old Ebbitt Grill’s current bar was once in Alexander Hamilton’s home and the restaurant is decorated with animal heads shot by Teddy Roosevelt (Jonathan and my favorite was the walrus…)
Standing Outside the Old Ebbitt Grill
Next to our Table Inside
2. Venue
Following dinner we had a short walk to the Mellon Auditorium where the dance was held. Expecting something similar to a hotel or country club ballroom (high school prom), we were pleasantly surprised to find such a beautiful venue. The Mellon Auditorium is a famous ballroom used in D.C. for many historical events, and it has the architecture to back up its reputation. It is located just across Constitution Avenue from the National Mall. I’ll let the pictures do the talking for me.
History Lesson #2: FDR initiated the Selective Service Lottery inside the Mellon Auditorium on October 29, 1940.
View of the Inside of Mellon Auditorium
Stairway Leading to the Balcony
3. Booze
Okay, so it is probably unrealistic to assume prom didn’t have booze involved (no comment from the author) but at Law School Prom, not only is booze provided, but it is provided via an open bar. Oh how great this is! Get a bunch of worn-out, stressed-out, overworked law school students in one room, drop some beats, and give them free booze and you can only guess what happens next! Let’s just say we cut a rug! The night progressed something like this:
Lauren: “Chris, let’s go dance to this song.”
Chris: “Sounds good, let me just grab another beer.”
Lauren: “I don’t think you need another one right now.”
Chris: “But Sandy is letting Jonathan have another.”
Lauren: “You literally just got one two minutes ago.”
Chris: “What’s your point…”
History Lesson #3: I wish I could insert some history about the history of free booze at law school events, but I got nothing, so I’ll make something up: The first open-bar law school event took place in 1933 when law students were celebrating the passing of the 21st Amendment repealing Prohibition.
Lauren Wanted to Get a Picture Without Beer in it (I screwed that up...)
4. Music
Here is basically the music pattern for High School Prom: (1) Play a couple songs from the 2003 Billboard’s top 20 in a row (e.g. Brittney Spears – but make sure you play the radio edits); (2) Follow them with a Bryan Adams song; (3) Play a slow-dance song by Seal or All 4 One every 15 minutes. The recipe for Law School Prom is more as follows: (1) Hire a D.J. with long hair and a backwards trucker cap; (2) Play only hip hop songs with provocative lyrics (radio edits not allowed); (3) Shove 500 loaded (from the free booze) law students and dates on a dance floor meant to accommodate 50. Some of the favorite tunes from throughout the night: “Get Low” by Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz (oh yeah, they played it) and “Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice (this was a favorite of my small group – see picture below).
History Lesson #4: “Ice Ice Baby,” based on the baseline of Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure,” was the first hip hop single to become a Billboard #1 hit.
The D.J. Laying it Down
The Four of Us Taking a Breather From the Dance Floor
Some of my LRW Group (Shortly After Rocking Out to Ice Ice Baby)
5. After Prom
In High School, Olathe East sponsored “After Prom” in an attempt to have all the seniors attend and have good clean fun rather than going out and getting bombed. Due to #3 above, this is not a concern at Law School Prom (everyone is already bombed) and thus after prom consists of figuring out how to get home. Jonathan, Sandy, Lauren and my after prom consisted of a nice walk down the national mall (it was 70 degrees at 2:00 am) en route to a metro stop. Walking through the monuments in the twilight with Cherry Blossoms starting to bloom was a beautiful end to such a great night. We had so much fun with all our new friends and can't wait for the event again next year!
History Lesson #5: Cherry Blossoms are actually named “Sakura,” a Japanese word meaning “Japanese flowering cherry.” D.C.’s famous Cherry Blossom’s originate from a gift of 3,000 trees in 1912 from Japan to symbolize the countries’ growing friendship.
