CdM High: How the ‘prom draft’ works

Attending prom is a rite of passage — a night immortalized by the dried flowers of saved corsages and awkward photographs taken in front of fake backgrounds.

Asking a girl to prom in a unique and unforgettable way is the pinnacle of the tradition.

However, finding a date for the dance and asking her before she commits to someone else presents a problem in some scenarios, Corona del Mar High School students say.

As the school’s boys have done in years prior, they recently rented an undisclosed venue, dressed up in sport coats and put themselves on the clock — two minutes each — to select a date for the prom in the style of a professional sports league’s draft.

The number they select during the draft determines the order in which they can make their date selection. The practice has become somewhat of a tradition among juniors and seniors at the high school, students say.

The draft took place at two venues — one for seniors, one for juniors. The seniors used a numbered ball roller to determine their picks in the draft, while juniors drew pieces of paper containing numbers.

Much like the upcoming NFL draft, the “draft commissioner” announces the opening of the draft and monitors the selection of dates.

Once a girl is selected, she is off limits and unable to receive a “promposal” — or prom date offer — from another boy in the draft.

However, the girl can reject the date and go with someone else, if she chooses. Every girl at CdM is fair game in the draft.

“There’s no ranking system or set pool of girls to choose from,” junior Eliza Britt said.

Britt was drafted by her boyfriend last year as a sophomore and again this year. She said she doesn’t find it offensive since the girls have the ultimate say about who they go to prom with.

“The guys still have to figure out a creative way to ask us,” she said. “There’s still a chance of us saying no.”

She said that most of the girls know before the draft which boy is planning to ask them.

Members of the draft committee — who are not being identified because they could face disciplinary action — said the event was “planned and organized with only the best intentions in mind.”

“There’s no numbering order of the most desirable girls,” the letter said.

The intent of the draft, which has been described alternately as “creepy” and “sexist” on social media, was to avoid the infighting and controversy that often follows the selection of prom dates, one student said.

“It’s about camaraderie,” he said. “It’s a fun thing to do with the guys.”

Though one student said he was aware a junior had paid $140 to move up the draft board and get a higher pick, authors of the letter said there’s no money exchanged in the senior draft.

Though the draft happened last week, most of the girls haven’t been officially invited yet, the senior said.

The high school is still rebounding from a difficult cheating scandal that stunned the community earlier this year.

CdM students also expressed concern the attention placed on the draft could put the June prom in jeopardy. In an email to parents, Principal Kathy Scott said she would “hate to have to cancel it” because of the actions of a few students.

Newport-Mesa Unified Trustee Katrina Foley said the thought that students spent money in the draft points to a larger problem at the affluent high school.

“They probably believe it’s not offensive or objectionable, and that’s part of the problem,” she said. “A lot of this stuff comes back to wealth and being responsible with that wealth.”

Foley said she wants to implement districtwide ethics training students to avoid issues like this in the future.

The practice does not appear to be widespread in Newport-Mesa.

Colin Duffy, a senior at Newport Harbor High School, said the draft isn’t something that’s practiced at his high school. However, boys place an emphasis on coming up with the most unique “promposal”

“It’s an unofficial competition to come up with the most creative way to ask,” he said.