Stress is not a foreign word to students at Cathedral.

The 100-point test, the championship game and: Prom?

Even the social event of the year can cause stress, especially  in the matter of promposals. Instead of simply asking the person they want to go with, they must take time to make a sign or buy flowers or drive the person to a special place. Shouldn’t someone be able to ask another person to Prom simply, with no frills?

Every year the promposals get bigger and bigger. This means the expectations get bigger and bigger. And yes, while seeing all of the grandure while scrolling through Twitter is fun, worrying or stressing about asking someone takes away all of the fun. How can you expect to ask someone with a sign when they are waiting for you to go on the news?

In our parents’ day, asking someone to prom was a much more simple affair. The stereotypical note with the “Will you go to  prom with me? Check yes or no” was much more common than recruiting friends to hold up poster boards spelling out the word P-R-O-M-? in the parking lot.

Prom is already so expensive, it seems inconvenient to spend more money on an absurd promposal. After a $75 ticket, a $100-400 dress or tuxedo and $40-60 shoes, asking someone to prom might be the only free part of the experience.

There is also the matter of nerves. Asking someone to prom is already an extremely scary task. With the possibility of a more public, extravagant rejection, some may not even try to ask in the first place. Even if rejection almost never happens, one person might be to scared to ask a person to prom because they don’t want to put so much time and work into a promposal, only to have the person tell them no.

The stigma around prom and promposals needs to end. The word prom should not be synonymous with promposal. Simply asking someone or even writing a heartfelt note can be a great way to ask someone to prom. Why stress about a dance that is meant to be pure fun? Prom is a night to dance, relax and have fun with friends, including with the person who asked you.

At the end of the day, it won’t matter whether you were asked with a question, a scavenger hunt or a puppy. Promposals are fun to watch and talk about, but they shouldn’t be the norm. The immense pressure and expectations are unnecessary to fully enjoy the night. If all else fails, a simple marked yes or no will do the trick.