O piniOn 3

Glendale High School Explosion
Opinion
Friday, November 8, 2013
3
What Do You Think?
What do you think about extravagant
Homecoming proposals?
“In the end, if it
all goes well, it’s a
nice thing to do and
it leaves you with
some high school
memories.”
Matthew Rayco
Junior
“I like the idea that
someone would go
all out in asking that
special person, but I
think it all depends
on the taste of the
person asked.”
Cassandra Amezquita
Sophomore
“I think it’s cute and
thoughtful because
it takes so much
effort for them to do
it. It sets them apart
from everyone else
and makes them
feel special.”
“I think Homecoming proposals are
supposed to be
romantic but not too
over-the-top. They
should be special
because it’s a big
part of the high
school experience.”
Renee Paladini
Freshman
Meri Palasanian
Senior
“I think it’s a good
idea since it makes
the girl feel special
and is gentlemanly.”
Dominic Scharrer
Freshman
Christina Bunggo and Joshua Bote
“When a guy asks
a girl, the girl is
forced to say yes
because everyone’s
watching and she
doesn’t want to
embarrass the guy if
she rejects him.”
Joseph De Leon
Senior
Explosion
Glendale High School
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2013-2014 Explosion Staff
Editor-in-Chief
Logan Ortiz
News Editors
Nshan Elexan
Lala Nikola
Opinion Editor
Grace Park
Royalty Editor
Christina Bunggo
Entertainment Editors
Joshua Bote
Sydney Sanchez
Sports Editors
Andrea Patino
Vard Sargsyan
Copy Editors
Joshua Bote
Andrea Patino
Staff Reporters
Staff Photographers
Joshua Bote
Christina Bunggo
Nshan Elexan
Lala Nikola
Shushanna Petrosyan
Adviser
Patrick Lancaster
Ashley Alexander, Sean Arnone, Alicia Deyta, Kajari Ghazari, Kaylee Mercado, Shushanna Petrosyan, Elmira Tofanyan
Yes (wo)men
In an ideal universe, the guy gets his dream girl. He
makes some heartwarming, sincere proclamation in hopes
that the girl will finally say yes to go on a date with him.
The guy devoted so much time and effort to create this romantic gesture. Of course the girl should say yes! Right?
Over the course of the past month, we’ve witnessed
guys all over campus making these grandiose, affectionate
proposals to girls, asking them to be their date to the homecoming dance. For the most part, it’s well-intentioned.
Balloons and giant posters and hordes of people circling
the lucky couple – it’s all fun and lighthearted, even a bit
endearing if the two involved are in a committed relationship. But this ideal notion is a rarity.
There’s a certain expectation for a guy to pull off a
grand gesture for a girl to say yes to him for homecoming,
which, in itself, is unfair. Guys have to put in a remarkable
amount of effort for a single chance to get the girl of their
choice to say yes. Proposals have mutated into a competition to see which guy can devise the most creative, well
thought-out scheme to get a girl to say yes. It all feels so
clichéd, so insincere, as if their sole intent is to one-up each
other. Who says romance isn’t dead in the 21st century?
However, the biggest injustice lies within the expectation that a girl must agree to go to homecoming if she’s
asked. Too often, when we hear discussions regarding
these sorts of failed proposal mishaps, the guy is portrayed
as a saintly soul and the girl is cast off as a coldhearted
prude. But a guy can’t simply expect a girl to say yes just
because he devised an exorbitant scheme to ask her out to
homecoming. For anyone to project that expectation on an
unsuspecting girl is ludicrous.
Girls, more often than not, say yes to these unwarranted situations solely because they’re pressured by the
surrounding masses of people who are expectantly waiting
for her to say the magic word. She’s essentially coerced
into saying yes. What other choice would she have? By
saying no on the spot, she comes off as snooty and unappreciative. By saying no after having already said yes,
she’s perceived as clearly leading on the hopeful fellow.
Why would she put up with all of the school-wide criticism and gossip that comes with rejection?
Somehow, this double-standard has become the norm.
The guys had the opportunity to pick which girl they wanted to ask for homecoming. Therefore, the inverse should
be true as well. Shouldn’t the girl have the opportunity to
reject an unwanted homecoming proposal? Can we even
go so far as to suggest the concept that a girl can ask a
guy out to homecoming? Perhaps we’ve become progressive enough in the 21st century that we no longer need to
conform to the standard gender roles for homecoming proposals.
But, no matter what, a girl’s decision to reject a homecoming proposal should not be invalidated. Their opinions
and decisions should be treated with as much respect and
validity as the guy’s decision to ask her to homecoming in
the first place. That’s our kind of ideal universe.
Joshua Bote is the entertainment editor for Explosion.
Christina Bunggo is the feature editor for Explosion.