Masuk Free Press

Prom is supposed to be one of the best nights of high school, but somehow, the biggest stressor isn’t even finding a dress or a date…it’s the tables.

I don’t know a single person who has exactly nine friends they would enjoy spending dinner with at prom. Some people might technically have nine friends, but the chances of those nine getting along and being willing to sit together for a formal event are slim to none. And it’s not just about finding ten people, it’s about making sure they all fit together perfectly, avoiding any potential awkwardness at any and all costs. 

“The Waterview doesn’t give any other option other than assigned seating,” said senior MRA representative Niti Shah. “But yeah, it’s a real pain. There’s always stress over whether, for whatever reason, your table gets messed up and you end up somehow stuck with random people.”

As someone who has been involved in student government, I understand better than anyone the frustration of dealing with venue policies. The school doesn’t always have control over certain aspects of prom, but that doesn’t stop the entire student body from directing their anger at the people planning it.

“It isn’t that we want to make tables, it’s that we have to,” said junior MRA representative Riya Pooskur. “I’ve had so many people come and complain, and I don’t know what to say other than that’s what the venue requires. Like, I cannot do anything.”

Most people who have been in student government or have friends involved understand this, but that doesn’t make it less frustrating. The stress of finding exactly nine other people to sit with, ensuring that everyone gets along and hoping no one changes their mind as prom approaches creates an unnecessary layer of anxiety.

Beyond just forming a group, there’s the added pressure to make sure those friendships or relationships actually last until prom. Ideally, if someone is your friend now, they will still be in a month, but things happen. Teenage drama unfolds. People stop talking. And, suddenly, a night that is supposed to be one of the best moments of high school becomes awkward.

It also puts pressure on students to lock in their prom dates earlier than they might otherwise. Some students may decide on a date closer to the event, but with assigned seating, that flexibility is taken away.

“If I were to get a prom date, it would be kind of awkward if I couldn’t sit with them because I didn’t put them at my table a month ago when I had no idea I was going with them,” said senior Aubrey Zvovushe-Ramos.

This level of planning was not an issue at last year’s prom. Students were able to choose their seats when they arrived, which allowed them to shift things around and sit with their friends, even if their groups weren’t perfect beforehand.

“I liked it a lot. I was a little nervous at first that it would be hard to find a table, but it ended up being perfect because people were willing to lend seats,” said Zvovushe-Ramos. “But I think when you limit it strictly to ten people, that’s when panic sets in. You have nine people locked in, but finding one more solo person is stressful. And it’d just be weird to randomly stick someone at our table.”

For many students, the issue isn’t just about assigned seating but about the unnecessary stress it creates. People naturally want to sit with their closest friends, but the strict table limit forces them to either exclude people or scramble to find extra numbers. In some cases, students have had to split up because their group was too large for one table but too small for two. 

There is also the underlying issue of how unwilling students are to interact outside their comfort zones.

“Yeah, no. Respectfully, I am not trying to sit with people I’ve only ever accidentally made eye contact with in the hallways at prom,” said junior Ritiksha Patel. “Like I’ll sit with people who I’m not that close with, but like actual random people… I’d die.”

Of course, assigned seating is not the perfect system. It would make more sense to allow students to seat themselves upon arrival or at least have some flexibility in shifting groups. But maybe the real problem isn’t assigned seating itself. Maybe it’s the fact that we’ve made the idea of sitting with new people feel like a social catastrophe. And if that’s the case, prom tables are the least of our problems.