Homecoming Proposals

Hocosing

FHS students continue traditions of homecoming proposals

Rosemary Towler towleros000@hsestudents.org

As September starts up, high schoolers from all grades alike start to think about how extravagant their homecoming proposal should be. Some opt for a simple poster with a pun that alludes to asking their date to prom. Others go for a more laid-back approach and simply ask their date one on one. All of those di erent ways are trying to accomplish the same goal: having a partner for homecoming. On Friday, Aug. 26, junior Delaney Grider was asked to homecoming before the rst home football game of the year. She was proposed to with a poster from her boyfriend right before they headed to the game. Her post on social media reminded Fishers High School students that homecoming is fast approaching. “I knew he was going to ask me because [he] and I have been dating for a year and a half,” Grider said. “So it would be kind of weird if he didn’t ask me.” Homecoming proposals have been an annual tradition for relationships at FHS for years. Originally, though, the rst homecoming is claimed to have happened at Missouri University in 1911, according to a Vice article posted in 2015. e tradition then spread across the country. “I think homecoming proposals have always been a big deal but are de nitely more prevalent in our generation,” Grider said. e rst ever journalized proposal for a dance was written in 2001 by Dallas Morning News, according to the Washington Post. us, the popular over-thetop homecoming and prom proposals being posted and written about in newspaper articles across the country were born. Some couples, however, are not doing outrageous homecoming proposals and keeping their proposals on a low pro le. “I think [homecoming proposals] are pretty cute,” junior Kadance Wheeler said. “I wish mine would’ve happened in a [cuter] way.” e proposal Wheeler received was di erent from Grider’s because Wheeler’s boyfriend goes to a di erent school. erefore, the proposal did not consist of an extravagant proposal like a surprise poster or gesture. “We were watching TikTok and [a] video about prom,” Wheeler said. “He asked me if I wanted to go to prom with him[and I said yes].” For couples across the school, homecoming proposals at FHS have become an annual event for many years. Many students want to make their rst or last homecoming a success with a big proposal. Some may not think it is a big deal and decide to opt for a smaller proposal. “I think they are a cool [and] creative way to ask someone to the dance,” sophomore Timmy Lawrence said. “ ey are not for everyone, but for the people that do like to do that type of stu , it’s a great way to show that you care and want to go to the dance with someone.”

Juniors Delaney Grider and Ryan Mitch pose for a photo a er Mitch proposed to Grider. Photo used with permission from Delaney Grider.