Prom. An anticipated school dance within your high school career. Meant for graduating seniors, they are allowed to invite anyone to be their date, typically done with a promposal which consists of a poster with a cheesy pickup line personalized for the individual. The dress code is formal, with guys wearing suits or tuxes, and the girls wearing gowns or other elegant dresses. Common feelings resonate with only juniors and seniors being able to attend, but why not welcome sophomores as well. Aren’t they basically juniors at this point?
“I think it’s something that should not happen anymore”, complained Senior A. For reasons of maturity, age, and just general life experiences, seniors may not be as open to welcoming sophomores, which is understandable. With them leaving the school and each other, they are much more closed off, wishing to have senior exclusive events. And when a sophomore barges in on that, it’s clear they won’t be happy. This is reaffirmed by Sophomore C, who believes “Being around sophomores at this type of event will make it somewhat awkward for the seniors. I think that because it’s a different level of maturity. It’s their final event before leaving school, and I don’t think they want to see people that just started.” As the age gap gets wider, it seems that so does the willingness in seniors to engage with people in younger grades. Who would want to spend such a memorable night feeling like a babysitter!
But what about legitimate relationships between a senior and sophomore? Whether it’s a genuine friendship or a less common romantic relationship, there’s still plenty of valid connections between the two grades, no? “I don’t think sophomores should be going anyways because there aren’t many sophomore senior friendships going on…it was different when I was a sophomore because I was friends with all those seniors”. A bit hypocritical, but the point still stands. Friendships between seniors and sophomores are possible, but just how common are they? According to Senior A not that much, as over a two year span the tide went from them being friends with the seniors, to now them as the senior not being friends with sophomores. Adding on to the issue but from a slightly different angle, sophomore C voices “ Of course there’s gonna be exceptions like if there’s a romantic relationship, but overall if a senior doesn’t have a date they should find another senior, even from another school to go with.” So, while it seems like some may be divided over the idea of if sophomores should be allowed if they are a romantic plus one, one thing is sure. They definitely shouldn’t be if they aren’t!
Comparing the opinion on the matter between the two grades makes one thing sure. General feelings among sophomores going to prom are more on the negative side, as there are many differences between the two ages. Caused by factors such as maturity and experience, these distinctions make it weird for the two to attend the event. It seems that when you are the sophomore, you feel accomplished to experience the event of your highschool career at such a young age. Yet, when you are a senior, it seems as if anyone not in your age range is infringing on your moment.
