In the movies, prom is depicted as a magical night where couples have fun together, yet for some students, the expectation of having a date causes controversy.
However, what the movies do get right is that, for seniors, prom can be one of the most memorable nights of high school.

“Prom this year is going to be memorable because it’s my last dance at New Trier and it’s the last opportunity to have fun with my friends,” senior Negin Niazadeh said.

Senior Ella Brown added, “It’s going to be more meaningful, because it’s the last time where a bunch of people from my graduating class will be together, in one room.”

For juniors who have never been to the dance, expectations are just as high. Junior Griffin Weller said, “I’m expecting it to be different than the other dances, because it’s at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, so it’s more formal.”

Weller added that the dance will be more fun as mainly upperclassmen attend.

Junior Caroline Cobb had more of an emotional reaction to the dance, because she will be graduating early. “For me, this will be my first and last prom. I’m excited to have a good time with my friends, even if it means looking like an idiot on the dance floor.”

Despite the positive anticipation, one issue, both in movies and in real life, is whether a person has a date. Every year, there seems to be stress for boys and girls alike in the attempt to find someone to go with.

On Youtube, you can find thousands of videos showing students presenting a “promposal” to their dates. Many of these promposals take hours of work to plan, just so a person can avoid the stigma of “flying solo” to the dance.

This issue of having a date causes drama for some students because their ability to have fun depends on it.

“There is an unspoken expectation that you will have a date to the dance,” Weller said. “I feel like if you take a date, they are your person to go back to even when the group is spread out. If you don’t have a date, you don’t really have anyone to fall back on.”

Emma Shragel, a senior who attended prom last year as a junior, said, “It’s easier to get into a group if you have a date already.”

Brown, however, disagreed with this underlying need to bring a date. “I feel that it is totally fine to go without a date, because you can have just as much fun. It’s annoying how hyped up the whole thing is about going with a date.”

The struggle and conflict about dates even at times extends to the nature of the group one goes in. Some groups only allow people “in” if they have a date and turn away singles.

Niazadeh offered a possible explanation and said, “It might be awkward for someone who is in a group without a date, because they are surrounded by other people who have one and they are alone.”

Brown said, “This issue of the group you are in becomes stressful because sometimes people are excluded as a result of these ‘date’ policies, which I think are kind of unnecessary.”

Senior Gabe Shapiro attributes the expectation of dates partially to the media. “In movies and television, it’s often portrayed as the guy and girl going together to the dance and that’s what the emphasis is on.”

Despite these issues surrounding the date and group situations, students expect to have fun at the dance and enjoy the atmosphere of the ballroom.

“It will be especially bittersweet, because it’s the last high school dance I’ll ever go to,” Brown said. “It feels like the end of my time in high school.”