With prom fast approaching, Irvington upperclassmen have started getting more and more desperate for prom dates.

“Promposals” have been a long standing tradition in American high schools since the early 2000s, and it is no different in Irvington. The most commonly seen promposals are the boring ones with a poster, flowers, and if you get lucky, a delicious snack. The posters typically consist of play on words such as “I’ve GYATTT to take you to prom” or song lyrics, like “Will you take it day by day with me at prom?” referencing the song by Grent Perez.

If a hopeful boy or girl was a little more ambitious, they might, with the help of friends, even choreograph a nice dance or sing a song for the person they’re asking. 

However, students have started to become wary and bored of the typical promposal outline, and have begun thinking of ways to differentiate themselves from the crowd.

Instead of a small choreographed dance routine, upperclassmen have started recruiting masses of underclassmen for flash mobs. They’ve gone as far as hiring professional dancers and choreographers to come up with these routines, incorporating upbeat hip hop moves, acrobatic tricks like backflips or handsprings, and of course the person asking will be the center of it all, joining at the very last second. Derit Ningrad (9) tells the Irvington Voice: “I’ve already been put in 3 separate flash mobs, and I have practice every single day afterschool. Hopefully they say yes…”

Rejection is unfortunately tragic but also unavoidable. One of the biggest flash mobs in Irvington promposal history occurred on the afternoon of May 10. Featuring complex formations and fast paced dance moves, students and staff alike were transfixed by the performance. The tragic and frankly awkward came when Brad Brad (12) shouted into the megaphone: “Mackenzie Smith may I take you to prom?” and the Mackenzie Smith in question shook her head slowly and backed away from the crowd. The crowd did not know what to say and Brad looked distraught. It was reported later that he was sobbing in the bathroom on the second floor of the new building. 

Despite this absolutely horrid rejection, even more students have continued to step up their game. Fire works, laser beams, smoke machines, and more were being rented out and used in either the courtyard or pavilion during lunch or after school. Promposals were happening up to two times a day.

School administration and staff have voiced their concerns due to the number of safety hazards, but many seniors have simply excused their actions, saying “it’s just the senioritis.”

Due to the complexity of all promposals now, ASG has started requiring master calendar forms to be submitted if the promposal is anything more than a simple poster and flowers. No one knows if this tradition of flashy promposals will continue into next year, or if it will die with this year’s upperclassmen. Only time will tell…