Aside from the usual stress of school, there’s something else on the minds of the juniors and seniors at Princeton Day School; they’re looking forward to one of the most anticipated nights of high
By Malavika Rajagopal
Aside from the usual stress of school, there’s something else on the minds of the juniors and seniors at Princeton Day School; they’re looking forward to one of the most anticipated nights of high school: Prom.
A night marked by tuxedos and gowns, parties and pictures, prom has quickly become part of larger high school culture. The promenade (“prom” for short) originated during the 19th century in American universities, and over time prom has become a high school tradition. From organizing venues to orchestrating “promposals,” prom is an elaborate process that takes careful planning. And with the big night approaching on April 12, the students at PDS have begun the process. As junior Caroline Lippman notes, prom is “[an] iconic high school event that everyone’s been looking forward to since freshman year.”
Promposals, or prom-proposals, are simply the ways students ask each other to prom, and the past couple weeks have seen a slew of promposals in the PDS halls. Some students opt for more traditional, simple gestures, like asking their date in a private or low-key setting.
As senior Akhil Parlapalli offers, “Sweet and simple promposals never fail.”
On the other hand, some students prefer grander efforts, such as promposing during a larger school assembly. Some believe this is because boys often feel they must plan something elaborate to match up to expectations.
As senior Brandon Glover explained, “Promposals, while fun, can be a very stressful time for males. There is a constant struggle in balancing promposal creativity and the waiting process. The longer you take to think of a promposal, the more likely your ‘crush’ or girl you were intending on asking will have already been asked by someone else. But, no one these days, male or female, wants to be a part of a bad promposal where someone just walks up to another and says, ‘Will you go to prom with me?’”
In this sense, promposals are at once exciting and nerve-racking, as students strive to ask each other in personal and creative ways.
The junior class traditionally finances prom. As a result, fundraising is key in establishing the lowest ticket prices for students. The more money the grade has raised, the better they can subsidize the cost of prom and lower the ticket prices for individual students. Money from the ticket purchases goes toward compensating for the total cost of prom that cannot be paid by the class’s funds. Currently, the junior class has fundraised about $3,000, and ticket prices this year are $80 apiece.
The actual night of prom has three distinct parts, between the pre-prom gatherings, post-prom party, and prom itself. Traditionally, groups of students convene at someone’s house before the formal event. There, students pose for photos while families socialize. Shortly after, the students meet at school, where they board a bus to take them to the location of the formal event. This year, prom will be hosted at GreenAcres Country Club as students recreate the “Great Gatsby” theme, which the junior class has planned.
Junior Michael Kearney comments on his excitement for prom, saying, “I think that it’s fun to all get together in black tie and socialize before dinner. Everyone looks super classy, and it’s a wonderful departure from more common gatherings. Also, it will be nice to finally go to prom, because for weeks people have been gossiping about who is asking whom, and what dress so-and-so stole from so-and-so. Seeing everyone get so stressed out is really stressful. So I’ll be glad once the day of prom is finally upon us.”
Students will dine and dance at GreenAcres before returning to school for the post-prom party.
”I think [post-prom] is what a lot of people really look forward to,” remarks Lippman.
Overall, the post-prom event is much more informal, as students change out of tuxedos and gowns and into more comfortable clothes, such as pajamas. The post-prom is held at PDS and ordinarily runs until two or three in the morning. Students are amused by bouncy castles, games and raffles, and the event has also included the entertainment of a hypnotist in years past.
As April nears, juniors and seniors carefully work out the different aspects of a much-anticipated event. Beginning with a promposal and a bouquet of flowers and ending with a corsage, Prom is a seminal point in high school — and PDS Upper School students are piecing together the different parts for an exciting night.
Malavika Rajagopal is a sophomore at Princeton Day School.