The Winter Formal Dance, February 18th, is 21 days away, and students of all grades have started to prepare…  except for guys. Planning for the dance ranges from getting the right outfit to organizing dinner. No matter what grade, there is a clear divide between girls and guys when it comes to getting ready for the dance.

In the senior class, Devon Haskell, Karen Denti, Anna Demont, Jillian Griener, Kate Delaney, and Sophia Mostovych talked about what they’ve done so far. For now, the girls are calm about finding dresses, no one is panicking. “We have more issues with where we’re gonna meet and how we’re gonna get there”, says Griener. Their focus isn’t on what to wear, but what to do. So far they’re working to plan the events of the night and find the guy seniors dates’. Demont says that “it’s [getting dresses] bigger for the younger grades”. The senior guys jokingly talked about how the girls would figure things out. “We’re bringing the enthusiasm”, says Charlie Crabtree.

In the Junior class, Nick Maniatis and Frankie Collier talked about what the girls and guys in his grade are doing to prep. “ The girls are deciding the restaurants and transportation, guys don’t do much”, says Maniatis. Like most, Maniatis says he hasn’t done much, except for deciding that he’ll wear his blazer. Collier added that, “It’s really more of a girl thing”. Of the Junior girls, Hannah Mendelson says her friends are planning for a party bus and reservations to a restaurant. Most girls she knows have picked out their dresses and ordered them online.

In the Sophomore class, Delaney Gray, Caroline Holland, Lauren Boswell, and Emily Pritchard talked mostly about their dresses. “The dress I wanted was out of stock, so I kept checking and checking until it came back in stock”, says Gray. The rest agree that girls in their grade have already gotten a dress or two, some more than a month in advance. When I told them the article was about how much guys are preparing vs. how much girls are, Holland said, “Obviously the girls will prepare more”. “Since it’s our first high school dance, we wanna make the best of it”, says Pritchard. Cade Black and Patrick Libby spoke on behalf of the freshman guys. “I’m just gonna throw on some clothes”, says Black, “Are we supposed to prepare?”. “I’ll just wear a button down shirt and some khakis”, adds Libby.

In the Freshman class, Gentian Fairman talked about how she and the other girls had all put a lot of thought into what they are wearing. “I’ve gone through about fifteen dresses and still haven’t chosen one”, says Fairman. As for the guys, Spain Scott “hasn’t prepared at all”.

Bolles male students clearly approach the dance differently from the girls, but that’s part of what makes it fun. The girls I talked to enjoyed finding their dress and planning a fun night; and the guys enjoyed letting the girls figure it out. Differences aside, everyone is looking forward to the 2017 Winter Formal, February 18th.