EDITORIAL
Is Prom FO
Social pressure to attend prom exacerbated by higher ticket prices
P
rom. A once (or twice) in a lifetime opportunity to fulfill your glamorous childhood fantasy. The cost? A few hundred dollars to find the perfect outfit, accessories, shoes, another hundred-fifty to buy tickets, and yet another hundred to get professionally done hair and makeup. Sure, you could thrift a dress or do your own hair. Or, you could choose to save this large sum of money by simply not going, but is it worth the extreme FOMO you’ll probably feel from scrolling through hundreds of social media posts the day after? Pricing and Costs This year, the cost of tickets for prom at Palo Alto High School reached a new high of $155 (without ASB card) and of $139 (with ASB card). According to ASB Adviser Steven Gallagher, the increase in the cost can be attributed to the higher cost of services such as catering
6 May 2022
and security post-COVID as well as infla- but they require students to talk to their tion. “From what I understand they range guidance counselor before approval. from anywhere from “It's a lot of pri$120 to $150,” Galvate information,” “From what I understand Gallagher said. “If lagher said. “That's what I've been told. they range from anywhere you think it applies I went back into reyou — you're havfrom $120 to $150. That’s to cords to look, and ing some financial they don't have them what I’ve been told. I went difficulty — you see in the database that your counselor.” back into records to look, we use.” In addition to Compared to and they don’t have them buying tickets, the other high schools expensive cost of in the Bay Area, in the database that we getting ready for prom can become a use.” significant financial — STEVEN GALLAGHER, ASB Adviser burden for students, especially those who Paly’s ticket costs come from low-income families. are among the most expensive, with Social Pressure schools such Not attending prom to save money may as Gunn High be a financially smart decision for students, School setting but the social pressure to attend often makes their non-dis- it an unappealing one. counted prices With conversations among students at $120 and both leading up to the night and after being Los Altos clouded by the topic of prom, what people High School are wearing, and who’s going with whom, it at $90. Gal- can be hard to escape the pressure to attend. lagher said Because prom is revered as a rite of the much passage for high schoolers, many students higher price want to attend. This can create a bandwagof Paly’s on effect, a social phenomenon that explains tickets is large- the feeling of doing something just because ly due to the venue: others are too. the Exploratorium. With most of their peers attending, “Exploratorium students who may not want to attend prom is the most expensive can feel an overwhelming sense of FOMO venue, and by the time (fear of missing out) if they don’t attend. But I took over, it was the this pressure doesn’t come from peers alone. only venue that we Children grow up surrounded by pop culcould get for this date ture and movies portraying prom as a ‘night May 14th,” Gallagher to remember.’ Many popular movies like said. Mean Girls, She’s All That, and 10 Things Scholarships are I Hate About You, depict prom as the beavailable for students all-end-all event and rite of passage of high
