Sophomore Semi-Formal is WHS tradition and one of the highlights of sophomore year for many students.

This event can’t happen without careful planning and preparation by the class Executive Board (E-Board). The sophomore E-Board consists of President Josh O’Neil, Vice President Phoebe Morss, Secretary Elizabeth Karpacz, Treasurer Ethan Hecker and 23 representatives.

The class officers have spent months preparing for Semi which will be Friday, December 2.

Planning for such an event comes with the responsibilities of finding a venue, choosing a DJ, scheduling a date and budgeting costs. The sophomore government has met almost every week to discuss and share their opinions of how to carry this event out.

This year’s sophomore student government has faced difficulty working around strong opinions and a late start. Their plans for early action were put on hold while they transitioned between old advisers and a new one.

The responsibilities for O’Neil include managing the class Facebook page, scheduling meetings with the class adviser, David Schmirer, and ensuring that meetings and discussions on Facebook run smoothly.

The process of choosing a venue for Semi began with a long list of potential places. The list was then narrowed down after what O’Neil described as a, “long, tedious debate on Facebook.”

In trying to draw inspiration and feedback from past grades, O’Neil has been consulting with the class of 2013 president, Kruti Vora.

As secretary, Karpacz has been reserved the venue and the DJ and has tried to work out prices and available dates.

“Even though I am the secretary, it doesn’t exactly matter. Specific positions don’t have specific jobs; as of now I am really only covering the jobs that need to be done,” said Karpacz.

Hecker discussed how funds can be used for both Semi and next year’s prom.

“I am trying to [make sure sophomore government and E-Board] work as a team and keep decisions fair,” Hecker said.

Looking to the future, the government has also begun thinking about Prom. Although it is not a main concern as of now, Karpacz explained the importance of beginning prom planning early.

“We are going to put a lot of money into [Semi], but even through that we are going to be saving for Prom because that is really expensive, and it is important to start saving early,” said Karpacz.

Karpacz and O’Neil are discussing the possibility of selling class clothing and doing fundraisers later this year to save for Prom.

“The process has been long and pretty tedious. No one said being class president was easy, and this process has been extravagant and stressful,” said O’Neil.

The stress of planning still hasn’t managed to get in the way of the class officers’ excitement.

“We are all very happy and excited with the end result for Semi. Everyone seems very excited also,” said Morss.