The allure of big city lights is bringing high school proms back downtown, despite lingering racial tension from last year's riots and an economic boycott.

        Worried about students' safety, many schools moved their proms out of downtown after the April riots. Prom season traditionally begins in April.

        Last year, Oak Hills High School moved its prom from Music Hall back to the school. This year, junior student council members chose to hold prom this Saturdayat the Albert B. Sabin Cincinnati Convention Center. Many students will eat downtown before prom.

        “It makes it special for them,” said David Vannasdall, high school principal. “They enjoy being downtown.”

        Neither issues of safety nor the economic boycott were discussed during the selection, he said. Students at the Bridgetown school have been involved in community discussions about race relations, including serving as a host site for the community's On the Same Page book discussion.

        “There's been a lot of things that have allowed discussion to go on and for students to feel comfortable. They understand a lot of what's going on,” Mr. Vannasdall said. “I don't think it's a fearful thing for them. They feel part of the city and want to continue to be a part of that.”

        Like other large schools, Oak Hills must choose from a limited number of venues because of its size. The school traditionally holds proms at Music Hall or the convention center.

        Last year, the convention center had seven proms booked, but five canceled. This year, the center is back to previous levels with seven proms.

        Schools are looking at security more closely and following a tighter agenda on where to recommend that kids park, said Don Eckhoff, assistant manager of the convention center.

        “I think, overall, the feeling is that they need to promote some of the downtown areas and help keep businesses going,” Mr. Eckhoff said.

        The allure of downtown also was a factor in Glen Este High School's decision to hold prom at the convention center.

        “Downtown holds an appeal because the kids don't always have a reason to go there,” said Linda Tache, prom adviser and math teacher at Glen Este near Eastgate. “Nobody has mentioned any concerns to me.”

        Glen Este's prom was booked at the convention center last year but was moved to the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington after the riots.

        At that time, the school changed its reservation at the Cincinnati convention center to 2002, so there wasn't much discussion about changing locations, said Amanda Smith, 16, the Glen Este junior class secretary and a prom committee member.

        “We want our prom where we want our prom,” she said. “A lot of girls go downtown to shop. ...We're not afraid to go downtown.”

        Covington Catholic High School was one of the first to initiate prom season this year. It was held Saturday at the convention center.

        Chemistry teacher Barbara Hagedorn, prom adviser at Covington Catholic, said she booked the convention center a year ago for the school's 175 attendees and their dates.

        Never once did she consider changing the location because of Cincinnati's unrest.

        “Very honestly, this year I haven't given any thought to it,” Mrs. Hagedorn said.

        Some schools that didn't schedule proms downtown last year have chosen to come downtown this year.

        Turpin High School's prom was held at Coney Island last year, but the school booked the downtown convention center for 2002 even though the April riots had just occurred.

        “We were planning it and the riots were happening, and we thought a year will have passed and it should be OK,” said Diane Harrison, junior class adviser at the Anderson Township school. “The kids thought it would be more formal.”

        Paul Brown Stadium is renting to proms for the first time, including that of Sycamore High School, set for April 27.

        “Our students typically go out to dinner at very exclusive restaurants and most of them go downtown,” said Jim Skoog, associate principal at Sycamore. “I thought that'd be nice and close because the stadium is right there. I think that part of town is really pretty safe. The parking lot is right there.”

        Not every school is going downtown. Kings High School at Kings Mills held its prom last year at the Hyatt Regency Hotel downtown, but is moving this year to The Oasis Golf Club & Conference Center in Loveland.

        The riots and current boycott had nothing to do with the school's decision to move its prom, said Joy Steller, assistant principal. “We just wanted to get closer so that the kids weren't driving that far.”

        ---

        Reporter Earnest Winston and contributor Sarah Buehrle contributed to this report.

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