Kids at a California High School Held a Draft To Pick Their Prom Dates

OC – In a world where asking a date to prom has become more romantic than asking for a partner’s hand in marriage, one group of high school boys has gone the opposite direction. For years, junior and senior boys at Corona del Mar High School have selected their dates for the formal dance through an NFL-style “Prom Draft.” The school’s principal is now condemning the tradition, saying it has the potential to objectify or judge those involved. Though the draft is not affiliated with the school and secret for the most part, some of the draft results were broadcast on Twitter, with pictures of sport-coated teens making their selections. One tweet posted by the senior class Twitter account joked the day before Thursday’s draft that “Many drafters on the prowl tomorrow for #freeagents so dress nice ladies. ”A rule book sent out in a tweet notes that “sophomores can be drafted,” and some pictures show girls’ names printed on the back of jerseys. The Twitter account has since been deactivated, but several students continued to chatter about it on Twitter in the days following the draft. “Prom-posals” have grown ever more elaborate through the years with students staging flashmobs, viral videos and other public gestures. But parents and students not involved in the prom draft at Corona del Mar said the draft goes too far, objectifying young women based on appearance. At neighboring Estancia High School, also in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, a club dedicated to discussing women’s rights issues released a statement saying the draft was “insulting.” “Prom should be about having a fun time with your peers and celebrating the end of a successful academic year,” wrote senior Emily Flores, co-president of the Feminists United club at Estancia. “These boys must be very confused about the time we live in if they think that being asked to prom is such a high honor.” Over the weekend, Corona del Mar High principal Kathy Scott sent parents an email after hearing that some parents had been contacted by the Register about the draft. “I am sure that the intention of this ‘draft’ is not to be harmful, but it may be,” Scott wrote. “It is not OK for any student to be objectified or judged in any way.” Parents have written to the Register saying the prom draft is not intended to rank young women and is just a way for groups of friends to sort out their prom plans. They also say that girls are free to turn down offers if they are drafted.
 

When will parents and teachers figure out this isn’t a good thing, it’s a great thing? It’s actually so similar to the NFL draft it’s ridiculous. Being drafted in the first round of the prom draft is 100 times more flattering than any dumb “promposal” kids are doing nowadays. There are probably so many girls who think they are the hot shit, expecting to get drafted in the first round, who don’t get picked at all. Wake up call, babe! Maybe stop wearing hoodies to class so much (unless it’s one of those girls hoodies where they do that move where they zip it up to make their boobs stick out everywhere, that’s a classic girl move we can all respect). Maybe apply some makeup in the morning. Being prom drafted isn’t only an indication of who you’re going to prom with, but also how far you’ll go in life. If you’re drafted, you’re doing great. If you went undrafted but were picked up as a free agent, you could still pan out, or maybe you’re one of those late bloomers or sneaky freaky kids that the smart GM/highschooler knew would fall into his lap, no pun intended but kinda intended. Either way, the draft does more good than bad, and these kids should learn to just keep everything off Twitter.