Photograph by Braelyn Wekwerth
Love is in the air, and so the pheromones of Berkeley High School (BHS) are circulating with a greater vigor than usual. With the turn of the seasons, from cold to warm so does the thawing of our bodies take place and take shape. For BHS students, and the greater high school aged student body, this season marks a time for another adorably romantic venture: Prom season.
For some, the word “Prom” has always been a source of joy and excitement. For underclassmen, Prom season is synonymous with the general increase of traffic to and fro during lunch and sixth period. For some, “the Prom” has caused anxiety, and for a select few upperclassmen, they aren’t even aware that this event is taking place on April 21 at The Galleria in San Francisco.
Promposals are the first step on the path to the grande promenade.
“I think promposals are a cute and fun way to get excited for prom. I wanted to be a part of a promposal and so I went for it,” said Lulani Sudjian-Lampkin a senior in Academic Choice (AC) who successfully executed a pun based promposal for her boyfriend.
“It was a very fun and lighthearted way for me to show my affection and also celebrate my relationship,” she said.
Sudjian-Lampkin enjoyed enlisting the help of her friends, including AC senior Lena Badhia, who described the process: “We were having dinner one night, we just sporadically started formulating the promposal. It was super fun and exciting just planning, I’m pretty sure our mamas thought we were crazy … I mean nothing they haven’t seen before.” Together they dressed up as a fisherman, played “Under the Sea,” and placed a kiddie-pool in the center of the courtyard. “It was awesome,” said the happy recipient of the promposal, Alex Bass, a senior in AC.
The process of the promposal requires personalized thinking and concentration but the pay off can be great, despite the absence of the promposal challenge in the 2017-18 academic school year. It is a culmination of the end of high school and for some conflicting sentiments can arise.
“As seniors you want to be united as a grade and sometimes when a large majority of senior boys choose to take junior girls it can create some tension,” said Stella Padilla-Val Verde, BHS senior.
Another factor of Prom stress is finances. Prom can be very costly with expenses ranging from professional hair, limousine, and hotel rooms, not to mention the Prom ticket itself. This can cause great stress.
The financial burden for Prom can often prevent low-income students from purchasing in tickets, and participating in an event that has become synonymous with the high school experience. Students who are on the free or reduced lunch program receive an insufficient discount.
No matter who you are going with or if you are going at all, there is a palpable joy and festivity in the spring season to be devoured. One can take many approaches to the prom, be it debuting in full makeup and glamour or a more humorous approach. Prom is a night to remember, a time of passage, dance, and a testament to the most potent aphrodisiac of all time: youth.