JSB Askings: Behind the Scenes

Jarrod Chang

On the 7th of April, the asking season for 2017’s Junior Senior Banquet officially began for the seniors, prompting every twelfth grade male to ponder the hundreds of ways to ask the ubiquitous question: “Will you go to JSB with me?”

What seemed like a regular chapel session ended with a unique surprise as Simon Jeong (11) stood on his seat and started a quirky flash mob that danced to the tune of High School Musical’s “A Night to Remember.” The juniors then formally invited the Class of 2017 to this year’s JSB. As the seniors approached the front of the room to receive their elegant invitation cards, again, one question preoccupied the minds of every man: How am I going to ask her?

Contrary to popular belief, the most common question for senior guys during asking season does not concern who they want to ask; it involves how. Most seniors, since it’s their last JSB, have already worked out the details of who they want to spend that special night with. The hardest aspect about asking someone to JSB is figuring out an original way to do so. Over the past six years, JSB proposals have evolved. Askings have gotten more creative and elaborate each year, which means that the expectations from girls have risen steadily. As a result, this poses a perplexing dilemma for all guys planning to attend the banquet with a date. The quest to devise a cute, memorable asking that stands out from the rest consumes men for weeks during this time of the year; and to make the situation even more complicated, the fear of rejection looms ominously in the backs of their minds.

Ning Kang Chia, a senior who possesses plenty of experience in this subject, highlights this tension by saying, “ The fear of rejection in front of a huge crowd after days of planning and preparing the asking is probably the most nerve-racking thing in the world.”

In fact, this JSB conundrum has no limits. Every male, whether single or dating, ranging from sophomores to seniors, experiences this issue. So why is it such a big fuss to ask someone to JSB? The main reason is that most guys want the girl to be happy, and the least that they can do is to put in the time and effort to make her asking special. But perhaps guys have made a slight misjudgment.

Hannah Buhr (12) sheds light on this topic when she said, “All I really want is flowers and chocolates, and I would be more than happy to go with him.”

Still, for some, this task may seem stressful and worrisome. But this does not have to be the case. One could definitely argue that the secret for the perfect asking lies in a proposal that is fun for both the guy and the girl, which then makes everything worth it. 

One such example is as follows:

Can I Have This Dance?

Caitlin Goh

On one fine Wednesday morning in A-block, Kylie Toh (12) was working very hard on her AP Statistics homework during her study hall period in the library. Mr Dobson decided to come by and interrupt Kylie by asking her to quickly come over to the back of the library. He told her that Mr. Brewster made an announcement that needed Kylie’s attention. Kylie, being clueless, followed Mr. Dobson to the elementary section of the library.

He then started playing High School Musical’s “Can I Have This Dance” music video on the projector. Kylie smiled with joy, knowing that something fishy but exciting was up.

Halfway through the video, Keito Watanabe (12) walked into the library through the back door and surprised Kylie by singing and playing along to the song with his guitar. At the moment, she ran towards him and hugged him tightly.

“Would you go to JSB with me?” asked Watanabe. Toh hugged him tighter and said “yes.”

Meanwhile, many people peeked behind the doors of the library and cheered for them.

“I can’t believe how he chose my favorite song and learned it just for the asking. That’s the sweetest thing he’s ever done for me so far,” Toh said that with joy on her face as she dreamily walked to her next class.

“I like how the title of the song relates to this year’s JSB because we are dancing this year!” Megan Chang (12) remarked.

This year’s JSB is unique because we’re going to do something we’ve never done before: students and staff are dancing to the waltz. This is something everyone is looking forward to.