The voice of the student body

The Dial

The voice of the student body

The Dial

The voice of the student body

The Dial

Will You Go to Prom With Me?

Only one time a year is the Hackley campus filled to the brim with balloons, flowers and an atmosphere of surprise. It’s prom season of course! An all-encompassing, high school rite of passage, prom and the newly-coined “promposals” have been the major talk of the Hackley hallways recently. Seniors and juniors feel that the pressure is on this year to ask their dates to prom in the most extravagant way they possibly can, whether that be romantic, extravagant, funny, or just plain silly.

Hackley students dancing at last year's prom. Photo courtesy of Chris Taggert
Hackley students dancing at last year’s prom.
Photo courtesy of Chris Taggert

If there is one thing for sure, it’s that the Hackley campus might love promposals just as much as the person being asked to prom. Junior Michael Arturi definitely feels that way. “I think promposals are absolutely adorable!” said Michael. Others, like junior James O’Keefe, find that having a fun “promposal” allows for some to overcome some pre-prom jitters. “Promposals are a fun and creative way to break awkward tension before prom,” said James.

This generally enthusiastic sentiment for promposals may be unique to Hackley, as everyone from every grade loves to witness them. “It’s a great part of the Hackley experience, a lot of my friends in public school don’t have nearly as elaborate promposals,” said Michael.

These promposals have become more and more extravagant as students scramble to find a new and different way to ask their dates to prom. Just ask Michael, who asked his friend, junior Isabel Hayward, to prom in one of the most unique methods Hackley’s seen yet—using a live fish. “I came up with my idea because I saw a picture of a girl asked to prom with a poster saying ‘Out of all the fish in the sea will you go to prom with me?’ and I thought it was adorable but a little tacky and overdone,” said Michael, who asked Isabel using a poster with that same phrase and a fish bowl with a goldfish inside. “I figured if I got her an actual fish it would give it a fresh take,” said Michael.

Witty puns seemed to be a recurring theme, as senior Gabby Troya was asked by senior Spencer Sohmer, who interrupted her math class dressed in full cowboy gear (mustache included) and gave Gabby both a stuffed horse and a note asking her to “please don’t say ‘neigh’, but will you go to prom with me?” Spencer’s promposal was especially personal to Gabby, who has a notorious love for horses. “Of course I responded yes! The whole thing was very thoughtful and Spencer put so much effort into everything, which made it all the better,” said Gabby.

Others experienced a bit of a sweeter gesture, as junior Jane Torell was gifted with both cupcakes and flowers when junior Erik Bostrom asked her to prom. “I think it’s really nice that universally most guys at Hackley get girls flowers,” said Jane.

If there’s one thing the Hackley students agree on, it’s that a humorous promposal is a good promposal. “I love funny promposals because it makes everything less awkward and the pictures are always great,” said Gabby. Promposals that are funny allow everyone else around them to enjoy the promposal and share in a laugh, which is why so many Hackley students gravitate towards those as their favorites. “I like it because it’s not all serious, and it can still be very special when it’s funny,” said freshman Sarah Lucente, who will be attending prom with junior James Spann.

Junior James Firpo clearly put a lot thought into his promposal for junior Amanda Rosenstein. He had the idea to purchase 700 plastic balls. James, on each individual ball wrote, “prom”. As Amanda approached her car after school, the trunk of her car was opened and, “hundreds of balls came pouring out!” According to Amanda, “It was such a mess but very sweet…although the first thought that came to my mind was, ‘Now I have to pick all of these balls up.’”

 
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