The controversial question everyone has been asking for the past two weeks at Corry High School is, “Should freshmen be able to attend prom if asked by an upperclassman?”

Many have been on board with the option of having freshmen who have been asked by an upperclassman to be able to attend prom this year, but others have disagreed with this decision saying that it’s always just been for the two upper classes (juniors and seniors). Last year was the first year that freshmen and sophomores were allowed to attend prom, but only because the parents took it into their own hands to throw their own prom that wasn’t connected to the school. It was still the same rule that the only way freshmen and sophomores were able to attend is if they got asked by an upperclassman.  Now some people are determined to make this permanent.

Sophomores are guaranteed that they are allowed to attend if they get asked by a junior or sophomore. The freshmen class was never really guaranteed to attend, although people just assumed so since it occurred last year. The reasons are endless on why the freshmen class is not allowed to attend if they’re asked, but some of the main “rumors reasons” that are stated are that it’s because of Covid-19 precautions; now that we don’t wear masks they don’t want a lot of students in one non-school location that is a public area being exposed like that. Others assume that it’s because the school administrators and other faculty want to keep it the way it always was. However, there was also a rumor that the school board would allow freshmen to attend if asked, but grades and behaviors have been spiraling in this class during the 2021-2022 school year leading to the privilege of going to prom being taken away from them. This left a handful of students in all classes with mixed emotions. 

I went around and asked some of the students at Corry High their opinions on the following question, “Do you believe freshmen should be able to attend prom if they’re asked by an upper class man?” For this poll I mainly confronted seniors, juniors, and freshmen since they were the main subjects during this decision making. What I found was very interesting. Out of the 62 students I questioned, the results were nearly a tie: 48%(30/62) of the students voted yes while 52%(32/62) of them voted no. This intrigued me because I know many upperclassmen ask younger classes to be their dates to prom. The outcome of this poll ensured my inference that many students acquired mixed emotions with the decision the school board made. Because the poll was nearly a tie, it is obvious that many students agree with the school board’s decision while many are left with a feeling of vexation as well.