Official Student Newspaper of Henry M. Gunn High School

The Oracle

Official Student Newspaper of Henry M. Gunn High School

The Oracle

Official Student Newspaper of Henry M. Gunn High School

The Oracle

Prom: 99 problems and a relationship is one of them

‘Tis the season for creative askings, scattered rose petals and prom dress hunting. For most, prom invokes a sense of excitement and anticipation. And why not—it’s a classic American tradition. But as many of us prom veterans know, there’s quite a bit of prom-a-drama that comes with the whole shebang; and we haven’t even gotten to the catfights over dresses or the messy table seatings yet.

I’m pretty sure over the duration of our high school careers, we’ve all either been that girl and/or seen that girl. You know, that girl with a look of pure horror and painful embarrassment when being asked in front of the entire school by a guy that she either barely knows or a dude that just doesn’t get the hint that she’s not interested. It’s an awkward situation all around, but the true tragedy of this scenario is that the girl will probably say “yes” due to peer pressure, which basically seals her fate of having an altogether terrible night. To these girls, I can only shake my head and ask the heavens where the heck her lady balls are. But then again, I know it’s also not the easiest thing thing to reject someone and risk the name-calling and gossip that will inevitably result from doing so.

Let’s set something straight: just because a girl rejects a guy, it doesn’t make her a bitch. No one should expect an immediate yes, because essentially a girl who agrees to go to prom is doing her asker a favor, not the other way around. I absolutely abhor people who walk around on campus thinking that they did some girl a favor just because she said yes.

If the asker doesn’t plan ahead and ask a girl they know they’ll have fun with, they might be getting themselves into a night of disastrous awkwardness. Girls do share some blame in this though. We all have to admit that we’re pretty shallow and many of us girls just want a free prom ticket. But to be perfectly honest, a free prom ticket really isn’t worth much if the pair both end up having a terrible night due to just plain awkwardness. He ends up wasting over $250 on the tickets and tuxedo, and that beautiful dress probably won’t feel so stunning to the girl who’s just sitting around at the table because she doesn’t know what else to do. Save yourself the trouble, and just decline politely or in private.

The stigma surrounding the idea that going stag is the ultimate embarrassment isn’t true. A girl could have fun without having someone attached to her for the whole night. There are the gambling tables for the risk takers, the photo booths for the camera whores, as well as caricaturists for the adventurers. And honestly, grinding with a guy in a $300 prom dress isn’t exactly the greatest fun that humanity’s created. If anything, it gets a little banal after awhile.

If grooving is your thing, though, you could always just find a good friend to hit the dance floor with; there are plenty of guys who asked girls just as friends. The night will be what you make of it; we’re generally a smart crowd and we know how to create a fun night for ourselves. Don’t depend on someone else to make prom a great experience for you.

—Tran, a senior, is Business/Circulation Manager.

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