Go karts, bumper boats and miniature golf are just a handful of examples of what local high school seniors will get to enjoy during their annual Sober Grad Night festivities to help curb underage drinking and impaired driving during a time when graduating seniors are looking to celebrate their successes.
“It’s a reality. Students of this age can get involved in some illegal activity in the form of the consumption of alcohol,” said Principal Marco Sanchez of Gilroy High School, which has a grad night committee that handles all the arrangements for its Sober Grad Night, seen as a “productive, positive alternative.”
For the second straight year, Mustang seniors will be treated to a party June 14 at City Beach in Santa Clara (2911 Mead Avenue), where for the $60 ticket price ($70 after May 31) they will be provided transportation to and from Gilroy High School, unlimited food and drinks, as well as attractions, including Robo Surf, bungee run, casino, chill zone, basketball, bocce ball and a hypnotist. The event starts with an 8:45 p.m. departure and ends with a 4:30 a.m. return to the campus.
“Last year was a huge hit,” said Sanchez, who noted that the shift away from hosting Grad Night in the high school gymnasium was due to the massive undertaking of converting the facility into an attractive party spot and then cleaning everything up afterwards. In addition, the gymnasium would be inaccessible for the weeks leading up to the event.
At Ann Sobrato High School in Morgan Hill, the parent committee organizers set up their June 8 Grad Night at Boomers in Livermore, where graduating seniors are transported from the school and treated to an all-night party of food, drinks, raceway go karts, miniature golf, laser tag, a live DJ and unlimited video games among other fun activities. There is a $100 ticket price, which was discounted with early purchases by February and April, and scholarships are available to reduce the cost for some students.
“It’s a fun and exciting time for our seniors to be together for the final time with their classmates in a safe environment,” said Principal Debbie Padilla of Sobrato High School.
At Live Oak High School, the June 6 party is held on campus where the gymnasium is completely transformed. This year there will be various casino, carnival and arcade games as well as a food and snacks area and photo booth for students.
“It’s of tremendous importance,” said Principal Lloyd Webb of Live Oak High School. “I’ve been in education for 30 years and, unfortunately, been to well in excess of 20 funerals of students who were killed.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens, and about one-third of those are alcohol related, according to statistics from the Mothers Against Drug Driving website.
“When the lion’s share of our senior class spend the night at this event, it decreases the chances (of drunk driving incidents) astronomically,” said Webb, who praised the parent organizers for their continued dedication to making Grad Night a safe, popular choice. “This has turned into a really great tradition. Parents who run it do a phenomenal job.”
Sanchez said creating awareness among the GHS student body on being responsible and not partaking in activities such as underage drinking is ongoing throughout the school year. At GHS, presentations are given by the California Highway Patrol, as well as victims who were injured by drunk drivers and mothers who lost loved ones due to underage drinking.
“We start this early in April, before prom even, to start to get the message out early and often,” said Sanchez, who added the same message holds true for other senior events, such as the school trip to Magic Mountain and the senior and junior proms. “It’s a special year for them. We try to do everything we can to make it a memorable one.”
At Christopher High School, where 70 tickets have already been sold, the Grad Night Committee was formed “to create a first-class celebration for the first-ever graduating class,” said Grad Night chair Lia Peterson. On tap June 14 beginning at 10 p.m. is an all-night casino and DJ, a magic act, an airbrush tattoo artist and photo booth. In addition, there will be a movie room, obstacle course, video gaming stations, boxer bingo, ping pong and basketball.
“Our sole purpose is to give our graduating seniors an event-filled night to celebrate with their classmates one last time,” said Peterson, who helped organize festivities to attract seniors and give “their parents the comfort of knowing their kids are safe and not drinking and/or driving around.”
Ticket information for each Grad Night can be viewed on the respective school websites.
