Is it fear? Is it panic? Is it love? Is it lust? The early August homecoming asks of freshman year is an unexplained phenomenon and baffles everyone. Why on earth do these kids concern themselves with a dance that happens in mid-October two and a half months before hand? That’s what I’m attempting to figure out.

On a statistical basis, 39.8% of 221 freshman who I surveyed through Google forms were asked or asked someone before school started. Mind-boggling, I know. Comparatively, out of the 171 seniors who were surveyed, 25.1% have not been asked or asked anyone yet as of September 17, and only 14% asked someone or were asked before school started. So while this tendency somewhat carries over, it’s clear that this is a primarily freshmen event.

There are consequences that come from this trend that justifies the anger that I have felt towards it. As one part of the equation (the dates) is done early, the rest (groups, plans, etc.) fills in very quickly, and with speed, comes sloppiness. A steamroller is initiated and there is nothing to stop it, so everything runs out of control. If the asking was “Panic Level 1”, then group making is “Panic Level 6”. Everyone scrambles for a group at the same time, causing the groups to inflate. That is why there are at least two groups of 35 or more freshmen this coming dance.

Also, it’s a big bet that you aren’t going to still like your date three whole months after you originally asked her. Opinions can wildly fluctuate within three months, and your commitment to spending what has become an entire weekend with them may not be that sound. People change, and their pleasantness that you’re counting on for an enjoyable weekend can change as well. While this isn’t extremely common, it does lend to uncertainty, and why would people choose to be uncertain about their weekend when they could ask in September and be sure that their plans will be fun?

It’s not as if these problems aren’t recognized as well. The general consensus of sophomores and above is that asking people to homecoming so early is unnecessary, and my experience with big groups has assured me that nobody walks away from that weekend satisfied with what happened. So this all further begs the question: Why do freshmen ask people to homecoming so early?

As I’ve spoken with others and gathered my opinion on this topic, it seems to me that the most obvious reason is nervousness. I can relate, I remember the sinking feeling I got when news spread of the first homecoming ask. The clock begins ticking, and it’s very stressful. Every day that passes without a date is another day in which your ideal date could possibly be asked, so it’s safest to ask early and lock your date down. This is what I like to call “Panic Culture”, the chain reaction of anxiety about the dance is aided by increased connectivity and availability, making the entire grade completely reachable and therefore, nervous.

The group behavior is explainable and understandable, so the missing piece is the the very first ask, patient zero. While you could just label this nervousness as well and go on with your day, but I feel it’s more complicated than that. My basic theory is that it’s the excitement becoming a high schooler that is the root cause. Registration for incoming Deerfield High School students takes place in January, a whole 9 months before these kids take a step onto as an actual pupil. This causes extreme anticipation for high school to take place over three quarters of the year, peaking in the summer.

Also, the television and movies shown to kids like that introduce them not just to high school ideas, but also adult concepts, making them feel older than they are. So the incoming freshmen are so excited because they’re big kids now, and they have expectations of what their experience will be based off of iCarly and High School Musical. They get to carry their backpacks around school, go to football games and sit in the student section and best of all… go to school dances. There it is. They first think of homecoming as early as January of 8th grade, and that bubble of excitement builds and builds and builds until it bursts, and man, does it have a huge blast radius.

Taking all of this into account, the theory I’ve contrived reads as follows: Freshmen’s tendency to ask their dates to homecoming so early stems from the early introduction to high school through media and middle school, which builds until the very first ask, after which additional pressure to get a date is added through the Panic Culture built around the event.
To any freshmen reading this, here’s my message to you: It’s too late for you now. I wish you luck, but I also want you to know that this was your decision, you can only get mad at yourself.

To sophomores and upperclassmen: Don’t be too hard on them, I took care of that with this article. They’ll learn just as we did, and we have to let them do that on their own.
Now just because I feel I’ve found an explanation does not mean that I agree with this trend. I still and always will think it is incredibly dumb. But, while I long for the day of a self-aware freshmen class that can fix this corruption before it can take its toll, inaction is the best course of action. We must let them suffer in order for them to learn.