Mark Schuver

That was then and this is now! On the left is Yearbook and Newspaper Adviser, Debra Klevens at her 1989 prom. On the right are seniors Erin Anderson and Annie Schuver at last year’s prom.

Prom: it’s the social event of the year…at least if you are a junior or a senior. Every year, students go above and beyond compared to years past. Girls must have an eloquent, beautiful gown while the boys must ask their date in the most creative way possible, short of skydiving with “PROM?” written across their chest. It’s a big deal.

“It might just be a Parkway thing because my high school wasn’t like that at all. The boys would just say, ‘hey, wanna go to prom?'” English teacher Erin Fluchel said.

However, it’s not like that anymore. Boys are pressured to ask that a date in the most creative way possible. Some used christmas lights on the beach, others bought a fish that decorated the tank with a rock that spelled out “prom?”

“I asked Colleen [Patty] by spelling out ‘PROM’ with 1,000 pencils covered in cotton and then soaked in nail polish remover,” senior John Kelly said. “I lit the pencils on fire outside her house at night so the letters would glow. I then gave her a flower. But I couldn’t have done it without Sam Stroncek and Chris Carter!”

Not everyone rose to the extremity of pyrotechnics though.

“Nick [John] just asked me through an inside joke,” junior Claire Logan said. “On a date, I got this really bad risotto, so he made his own risotto and spelled out prom on dishes with it. It was actually pretty good.”

Unless a sophomore or freshman is asked by an upperclassman, prom is exclusive to juniors and seniors. For seniors, it is their last dance and chance to get dressed up together.

“It’s important for seniors to go to prom because it’s the last time we will all be together just for the sake of having fun,” senior Annie Schuver said. “Graduation is a huge milestone obviously, but it’s emotional. So senior prom is the truly the last time for all of us just to laugh and talk and enjoy each other without thinking about the end of high school and the unpredictability of our new beginnings.”

While West prom typically reaches new heights every year, some students think it is simply more fun to make it a big deal.

“It’s more fun to go all out. Who doesn’t like getting dressed up for a night?” senior Trey Osterholt said. “And it’s an excuse to wear a tux!”

Teachers agree that their proms were nothing too flashy.

“Our prom wasn’t anything special. After graduation, we took a girl to dinner and to a dance in the gym. No theme or anything,” English teacher Bill O’Neal said.

This year’s theme, however, is Enchantment Under the Sea.

“I think the theme is awesome. I mean, who doesn’t love Back to the Future,” Osterholt said.