It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single girl
of high standing at Longbourn Academy must be in want of a
prom date.
While the same can probably be said of countless other
schools across the country, prom at Longbourn isnโt just a
rite of passage โ itโs considered by many (at least those
who matter) to be
the social event for future
members of high society. Longbourn girls donโt go to the
mall to get their dresses. No, they boast couture from
designers whose names adorn their speed dial.
Just look at the glossy six-page spread dedicated to more
than a century of prom history in Longbournโs recruitment
brochure. Or the yearly coverage in
The New York
Times Sunday Style sectionโฆ or
Vanity Fairโฆ or
Vogue. Fashion reporters and photographers flock to
the Connecticut campus to scope out the fashion, the excess,
the glamour of it all. It is Fashion Week for the silver
spoon set.
The tradition started in 1895, the first year Longbourn
opened up its doors. Originally set up as a finishing
school for proper ladies, the founders realized they needed
to have an event to usher their students into the elite
world. And while girls nowadays donโt really need to be
formally โwelcomedโ into society, nobody wants to give up a
weekend-long excuse to dress up and attempt to outshine one
another. Friday night is the reception where the couples
(consisting of Longbourn girls and, for the most part, boys
from the neighboring Pemberley Academy) are introduced.
Saturday night is the main event and Sunday afternoon is a
brunch where reporters interview the students about the
previous evening.
Students become fixated on prom from the day they get
accepted. To not attend, or have the proper date, would be
a scandal from which a young girl would never be able to
recover.
Imagine the chaos that erupted a few years ago, when a
scholarship student not only snagged the most sought-after
boy at Pemberley, but showed up in a dress from Macyโs (the
horror!) and caught the eye of the
New York Times
reporter, who ended up putting her, and her story, on the
cover of the Style section.
Up to that point, most students tolerated the two
scholarship students in each class. But this was too much.
The following year, hazing began. Most scholarship students
couldnโt last more than two years. The program only
continued because the Board of Trustees was adamant about
diversifying the student body (and by diversify, they meant
having students whose parents didnโt earn seven-figure
yearly bonuses). Plus, the scholarship students, often
called โcharity cases,โ helped boost the academic record and
music program.
Given the opportunities, education-wise, the scholarship
students try to put up with the behavior. After all, this
kind of experience couldnโt have happened at home. So there
was a price to pay for the best teachers, resources and
connections. That priceโ condescension, taunts, pranks โ
got old pretty quickly.
Itโs not easy, though. It only took the new scholarship
girl in the junior class two days before she broke down into
tears. Fortunately, she was alone in her room and nobody
saw her. But it happened.
I should know. Because that was my room, and my tears.
I was a scholarship student. A charity case.
One of
them.
There was a giant target on my back.
And I had to do everything possible to avoid getting hit.
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