Organized by the Junior Escape Dance Committee, the dance had higher ticket prices than most school dances, with tickets ranging from $12 to $16, but still drew 268 students.  “The price was still reasonable and I was happy to support my class,” junior Desiree Choy said.     

    Several Junior Escape committee members came up with the dance’s theme, “Flashing Lights,” on a trip to Disneyland that involved glowing black lights and Kanye West’s song. “Everyone loved the idea,” Junior Escape committee president Katrina Lau said.  Once they agreed on the theme, committee members advertised with posters, registry announcements, bulletin notices and internet posts.  They updated networking Web sites like Facebook weekly with information about the dance, including specific details about the black light and neon theme.

    Perhaps this creative advertising helped generate the sale of 75 “alien” tickets.  “A lot of people who didn’t go to Lowell went because we have a reputation for having good dances,” junior Lily Ling said.  For some students who weren’t as pleased with the size of the crowd, the decorations made the difference.  “It wasn’t humongous, but they did a really good job making it seem more crowded than it was,” junior Carolyn Inglis said, adding that the dance being restricted to the club’s first floor provided the ambiance.   

    Most of all, the dance gave students the opportunity to enjoy a more exciting environment than usual.  Club NV on Howard St., normally a dance club for adults, was a hit.  “It felt really trendy almost,” Inglis said.  “Because of the club and the black light, it wasn’t just like any Lowell dance,” she added.      

    One of the main goals of the night was to spread the word that junior fundraisers are not exclusively for juniors, according to junior class treasurer Teresa Wong.  
Junior class committees are now planning food nights, selling retro shorts and sending donation letters to support their class.  As for junior prom, “we already have everything set – just some extra details left,” Wong said.

    Many students believe the successful event boded well for the Class of 2009’s prom.  “It’s going to be like Junior Escape, but on a bigger scale,” junior Michael Hu said.