Mid-April, the traditional signs of prom season begin to arise in the halls and parking lots. Cars in the senior lot are scribbled on, messages are left from class to class and posters are put up in the commons, all with the same question: Prom? The girl sees the flowers and cookie cake, gasps and greets her pursuer with open arms. The guy puts his arm around his new date for the first time, the two snap a quick picture, throw on a Valencia filter and post it to Instagram: “Prom with this one! #promposed” the caption reads. The guy then rejoices, sits back, and waits for the girl to add him to the prom facebook group so he knows what the plan is for the big night. Wait… What?

What happened to the old fashioned date? Because as we females search yellow pages for a good restaurant and limo company and find a house to gather at beforehand, I can’t help but wonder why we’re doing it. Is the big “asking to prom” just a ceremonial act of pursuit? Traditionally, when you ask someone on a date, you then proceed to pick the restaurant and times, purchase the dinner, and find the means of transportation. It’s time that we change the way we do things, and let the pursuer do the work.

This tendency we feel to take control of the evening agenda may be the result of Homecoming historically being a Girls-Ask-Guys, Sadie Hawkins-style dance. This makes us feel as if we’re responsible for the planning of every school event, but we’re not. If for some reason we don’t trust our dates to plan a night that meets our standards, then we shouldn’t be going to prom with them in the first place. Because if a boy can gather the courage to ask a girl during Zenith, the Chap Recap, or via a huge poster in the commons, he can most definitely muster up the manhood to make a reservation and coordinate plans with a group. It’s about having the courtesy to relieve the pressure from the girls. So, I want to challenge females to withhold the urge to take control, and encourage these so called “young men”  to step up and plan a date.