Winter Formal askings this year less grand than usual

November 30, 2017 — by Connie Liang and Sandhya Sundaram

This year's poster and flowers askings contrast with extravagant ones from previous years

Last year, around this time, a hysterical, pregnant senior wailed in a wheelbarrow while his friend pushed him toward the quad. Ironically, Ryan Westman, the senior in the wheelbarrow, was also pushing a baby out of his womb.

In the center of the quad, 2017 graduate Nathan Ching popped out of Westman’s “womb” and presented then Kailyn Koerber with a poster that displayed the words “I was born to go to formal with you” along with a bouquet of roses.

It was a winter formal asking. Duh.

Unlike this year, 2016 was full of extravagant askings: from babies popping out of wombs to an asking carried out through a scavenger hunt, and a performance of “Juju on That Beat” in the quad.

Recently, sophomore Brandon Jiang asked sophomore Natalie Tarbox with a Harry-Potter-themed poster that read “I’m seeking a date and I think you’re a keeper. Formal?” Tarbox said she preferred the more low-key poster and flowers compared to a more lavish asking.

“Because it was just me and him and a few other friends, it made it less of an ordeal and more relaxed,” Tarbox said.

Regardless of whether it was babies flying out of wombs or simple posters, senior Nathan Kang decided to go all out with his asking of junior Amy Tang.

He led Tang up a flight of stairs strung with Christmas lights onto a balcony where Tang was then surprised with a table of food.

“With all my friends going, the venue being at Hyatt Regency, and having an incredibly fun date, I was just motivated to make the night as special as possible,” Kang said.

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