Picture this: it is going to be the first year you have a date to go with at Homecoming. You are excited for the pinnacle high school experience of a Homecoming proposal that is surprising and personal.
You excitedly wait to be surprised, but instead, your date lets you know exactly when they will, and when they come up with a poster board, you realize your friends made the entire poster for them. You don’t want to make a big deal out of it, but ultimately you are a little disappointed in yourself for having such high expectations.
As Homecoming season comes to a close, it is notable to consider the types of trends we have seen in proposals the last few years at Webb and the lack of creativity that seems to arise each year.
“A lot of them are the same, one person holding up a poster board a lot of a large group of people gathering around. A lack of true creativity,” said Mr. Rosenfeld, Dean of Campus Life and Student Government Advisor.
Traditionally, Homecoming proposals are seen as grand gestures and a way to encourage people to get creative when formally asking someone to a dance. However, throughout the years, it has been normalized to simply ask with a poster board instead of thinking of alternative ways.
Reflecting on this year’s proposals, there was a lack of variety, to say the least. Although there were interesting ways of writing on the poster boards, with different approaches to incorporating the person’s name, interests, etc., it is clear there has been a decline in the level of proposals in comparison to previous years.
In many cases, the proposals are set up and seem forced — other people often make the posters or set up the ask, but the people involved barely know each other. Many students do this simply for the sake of going to Homecoming with a date rather than genuine interest in the person they are asking.
These proposals also come across as overly staged, with the recipients of the proposal knowing ahead of time when they are being asked, ruining the surprise of a genuine proposal.
Some of our favorite creative proposals from previous years set the bar high and made a lasting impression. One example of this is Xander’s scattered rose petals leading up to his ask to Caroline in 2022. In the same year, Maksym organized an unforgettable mob dance battle proposal to Abbey, getting the audience to cheer in excitement. These proposals seem to be well thought out, making the experience more personal and unique for the recipient.
It is important to consider that Homecoming at Webb has always slightly differed from the typical high school. Homecoming is typically a week-long celebration that includes spirit days, a pep rally, and a football game leading up to the dance at the end of the week. However, at Webb Homecoming does not include a lot of these activities.
Due to changes in the calendar this year, the dance directly followed our return from October break, with only three days of school left before the Homecoming dance. Due to the short time between the break and Homecoming, many students feel that the tight deadline limited their ability to develop more thoughtful and creative ideas.
“I think Homecoming feels different at Webb this year, especially with it being only a few days after the break,” Lauren Duffy (‘25) said. “I’ve been making a lot of posters for people to ask my friends because I’m willing to put more creativity into them.”
Overall, while the proposals that we saw this year were not terrible, it is undeniable that a lot of them have lacked creativity in comparison to past years. We hope in the future to see more creative proposals that also foster Homecoming to have more spirit as a whole.
