Lookit

High school boys pick dates with NFL-style ‘Prom Draft’

This seems like a terrible idea, even by Teen Standards™!

by Michael Katz

May 7, 2014, 2:04 PM UTC

USA TODAY Sports

Here is the story in a nutshell, from the OC Register:

For years, junior and senior boys at Corona del Mar High School have selected their dates for the formal dance through an NFL-style “Prom Draft.” The school’s principal is now condemning the tradition, saying it has the potential to objectify or judge those involved.Here are four things to know:

* The draft results are, of course, disseminated on Twitter.
* There is a rule book. It includes rules like “sophomores can be drafted.”
* There are tweets sent out with girls names on the back of jerseys.
* A student paid $140 to secure a high pick. 140 American dollars.

You might expect the girls to be upset. WELP.

From the Los Angeles Times:

“A lot of the girls respect the draft and stick with those dates.”
But the prom draft has also drawn complaints from female students, he said. Last year some junior girls were upset that junior boys were asking sophomore girls instead of them, he said.

And the OC Register:

Sophomore Jessie Harris was one of the girls included in the draft and said the negative coverage it generated on Tuesday was unnecessary.
“I am part of the draft and am friends with many girls in the draft and yes, in some instances girls can be picked by appearance,” she wrote to the Register. “It is all just a fun way to decide who you will be going to prom with. It is not meant to harm those who are picked and I do not believe that it does. It is not, was never, and will never ever be used to objectify the girls at our school.”