PARKLAND, Fla. – The senior class of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School will have the “most insane prom” this year after the Parkland students won a national contest.
Put on by the clothing store Hollister, the contest will contribute $150,000 to the school’s senior prom set for May 11 at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort. A band will also perform live at the prom, but Hollister officials have not announced the musical act.
Senior Ashley Santoro said she’s pumped.
“It’s really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for seniors,” Santoro said. “I just feel like they could really take that money and use it as an opportunity to make this like a really great prom that will stand up and be really memorable for us.”
Marjory Stoneman Douglas won the online voting contest, receiving more than a quarter of all of the votes cast across the country.
Hollister’s parent company, Abercrombie and Fitch, launched this contest for the first time this year.
"We could not think of a more deserving school to win inaugural prom contest. We look forward to supporting the students later this spring,” the company said in a statement.
The Parkland school was the site of a deadly mass shooting last year, and many Stoneman Douglas students have become outspoken activists against gun violence. Abercrombie and Fitch said the company had no plans use the event to promote Hollister.
"It’s the students’ prom. We do not have plans to brand the event nor capture or share content for advertising or marketing purposes,” the company said.