Prom is just around the corner, and promposals are beginning to actively take place on campus as students spend their second week back to school since spring break.

Now that people are beginning to think prom, it is not uncommon to see boys come up with clever ways to ask girls to prom, some of them going as far as flying a plane overhead with the words “Prom?”.

When did prom become so popular, and why is it called “prom” anyway?

The word “prom” is short for “promenade”, referring to a gathering of people who are attending a party. The dance has existed for centuries, starting as a simple college event in the 1800s. The dance was meant to teach students proper manners.

By the early 1900s, high schools began to host proms. Eventually, the dance became so popular that it was held nationwide in both high schools and colleges.

The dances usually were hosted for the upper classes of society, and most people thought if adults chaperoned the dances, then students would learn how to behave well.

Memories always have been made on prom night, both good and bad depending on the date, the weather, the venue and many other factors. But in the end, for most students, prom is an unforgettable evening.

“What I remember most from prom is my friends and I standing in the crowd with our dates,” Cathedral Catholic High School economics teacher Ms. Christi Harrington said. “The venue was so beautiful with about a million twinkling lights everywhere.”

Mrs. Harrington’s senior prom was held at Paradise Point Resort and Marina, where she remembers what she and her date, her boyfriend at the time, wore to the event.

“I wore a floor length black and white evening gown,” Mrs. Harrington said. “And my date wore black jeans with a white shirt and a Western style tux jacket. He also wore black cowboy boots, a black Stetson [cowboy hat] and a bolo tie and a belt buckle.”

Although this is untraditional attire for prom today, Mrs. Harrington’s boyfriend at the time, and her friends’ boyfriends, were all “country” boys from the south, she said. So, it was a great opportunity for everyone to dress untraditionally.

For current CCHS students, prom represents an opportunity to end their high school years in a memorable way.

“Prom is memorable because it’s not like homecoming, in the sense that it’s a lot more formal and you typically go with someone you care about,” CCHS student Josh Burke ’16 said. “Prom is generally for upperclassmen, and it almost helps our classmates and peers get to know each other more and overall have a good time.”

This year’s prom, which takes place on April 23 at University of San Diego, will be bittersweet for seniors who must say goodbye to high school dances.

“Prom will be the most special high school dance yet!” CCHS student Francesca Laskero ’16 said. “It is the last dance the seniors will attend at Cathedral and is a great way to close the year. I’m excited to share the special night with my friends and classmates, and share awesome memories and moments from the past four years.”