ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 19, 1996 TAG: 9605200014
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-21 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: HALE SHEIKERZ STAFF WRITER
Think of proms and you think of couples, arm-in-arm in formal wear.
Times have changed. It's OK to go it alone or with groups of friends.
In the past five years, more and more students have shown up at their proms stag, said Craig Hexton, junior class sponsor at Auburn High School.
Not having a date has "lost its stigma. ...I think the kids see it as a memory of lots of them being together instead of boyfriend or girlfriend."
For Auburn's prom at Blacksburg's Best Western/Red Lion Inn, Bryan Bowen, Kris Norman and Randy Hall each rented a tuxedo and bought boutonnieres for themselves. (Bowen works at a flower shop, so he got discounts.)
Norman and Bowen said they almost had dates for the May 11 dance - until the last week when they broke up with their girlfriends.
Nathaniel Reed, a junior, also went alone.
"My date is sick ... it sounds fake, but it's the truth," he said. He had already paid for his tux and shoes, so he went.
Holly McCoy, a junior, decided to attend the prom an hour before it started. She already had a dress, so she called her friend Renee Laffoon to see if she was still going alone. Laffoon had broken up with her date just days before the prom, but wasn't going to give up on the prom.
"I wanted to see who was with whom and what everyone is wearing. [If I didn't go] my mom said I'd regret it," said McCoy.
Going dateless has advantages, including less money and less worry. "I can dance with whoever I want and no one can get mad at me," said Chris Wallace, who went to the Auburn prom with friends who had dates. His biggest complaint was having to wait for everyone else, "because the women take too long."
Auburn senior Chris Walker went to his prom stag in his $40 tux. Less money, and he didn't have to answer to anybody. Good thing, too. Tennis shoes and a baseball cap completed his formal outfit.
LENGTH: Short : 41 linesby CNB