Senior BASH: A Project Graduation Success

On the night of June 24, after retrieving graduation caps from the Ridge High School turf and posing for pictures with family and friends, the new graduates of the class of 2010 rushed home to prepare for the Senior BASH.

We tossed our diplomas onto our beds, changed into shorts and t-shirts, and quickly dashed back to school to catch buses that would take us Rider University. There, we spent the entire night eating, playing games and saying some of the final goodbyes to our high school friends.

Ridge's Senior BASH is part of the nationwide Project Graduation program, in which high schools provide all-night entertainment for their graduates in order to keep them safe and drug-free on graduation night. The program was started in the late 1980s with small grants from the Federal Government in order to discourage drinking after graduation, and thus decrease the number of deaths in traffic accidents.

Now, many high schools across New Jersey and the country host free all-night events for graduates. Most of the organization and supervision is provided by parent volunteers; in Basking Ridge, the SCOP (State Community Organization Program) Team planned and funded the event.

Our BASH, which ran from right after graduation to 5 a.m. the next morning, was definitely a success. The BASH featured activities to keep recent graduates entertained and awake all night, from tables full of food to arcade games to a quiet room showing movies.

Highlights of the night included two caricaturists, a man who created portraits of people and animals with a piece of paper and scissors and a hypnotist who convinced sleep-deprived teenagers to fall asleep, jump up again or slow dance with an inflatable crocodile. Some students played miniature golf or basketball in the Rider gymnasium; I spent my hours lounging on couches and on the grass outside, talking to my friends and former classmates.

Of course, not everyone attended the BASH. Some preferred to have dinner with their families, or actually get some sleep. However, 350 out of about 425 Ridge graduates did participate. After all, Basking Ridge does not offer many things to do after about 10:00 p.m.; BASH provided structured and free entertainment that was equally or more enjoyable than a party.

The fact that such a large percentage of the class attended the BASH instead of simply hosting their own parties attests to its success: even a substance-free and highly supervised party seemed appealing enough to draw almost all of Ridge's graduates away from the privacy and quiet of their own homes.

Most importantly, unlike most parties planned by parents, the BASH was actually an enjoyable and memorable way for Ridge's graduates to spend our graduation night. In fact, just about every single Ridge graduate will remember it as one of the most exciting nights of their lives—even the poor guy who had to slow dance with the inflatable alligator. Hopefully, future graduate classes will have a similarly amazing experience at the Project Graduation BASH.

Editor's Note: Sandra Korn is a recently graduated Ridge High School student, class of 2010. To see a photo gallery of Project Graduation BASH, see our previous coverage.