Homecoming and prom create excitement and anticipation for students at Arrowhead and other high schools.

The beginning of the school year brings the flurry of buying dresses, finding a date or group to go with, and Homecoming week. Arrowhead students celebrate the week by dressing up each day at school in an assigned theme, and by attending night activities and the Homecoming game. And of course, there’s the dance itself, with each ticket costing $15 or $20 for VIP, hosted on Saturday, September 26th from 7 to 11 pm at the North campus gym.

As for prom, this night gives couples, and singles, a chance to attend a formal dance hosted in spring. But what about The Woman Is Required to Pay (TWIRP)?

Arrowhead High School used to offer this dance at the end of January, between 8:30 to 11:30 pm, in addition to Homecoming and prom. TWIRP was a twist to the typical high school dance since the girls asks the guys, versus the usual guys asking girls.

TWIRP was organized and hosted by Arrowhead Student Senate in the North campus gym. It was first offered in 2009, and discontinued after 2011.

A majority of the students interviewed want TWIRP at Arrowhead again. The idea of a girls ask guys dance was welcomed by both boys and girls.

Sophomore Noah Zenker said, “It would probably be a cool experience to do something different. I mean most of us have probably never had that.”

Jessie Doty, sophomore, said, “It would be a fun dance, and interesting, and just something different. It’ll be kind of cool to have girls ask guys, because guys usually ask girls.”

Senior Mike Gassing, who attended TWIRP in his previous high school years said, “it was fun, and it’s like an Arrowhead tradition.”

A girl asking a guy to a dance seems like social taboo since it doesn’t occur often. TWIRP defies that stereotypical norm. It gives girls a chance to ask out a guy without it being socially strange.

Sophomore Margaret Hartnett says, “I feel like it’s not fair for girls to not be able to ask guys even if they want to ask a guy.”

Senior Marion Meyer believes that, “ it’s not only the men who need to ask to girl, the girl can ask too.” Many students agree with Meyer in the belief that girls can ask too.

Both boys and girls say they would participate and attend TWIRP if Arrowhead brought it back.

Senior Jasmine Case says, “Yeah I would [participate], I think it would be fun.”

Even though TWIRP stands for The Woman Is Required to Pay, most guys say they would still pay for dinner and the corsage even though there’s a role reversal.

However, when asked if he’d have the girl pay, Gassing said, “Yeah probably, because that’s the tradition, and it’s nice for the guy to get a break too.”

Reactions to the idea of girls asking guys were positive. It varied from promotion of feminism and a sign of courage on a girl’s part, according to Margaret Hartnett, 10, to the bonus that it gives the underclassmen another opportunity to attend a dance, said Abby Bartelson, 10. TWIRP also gives the guys a break from being the one to come up with ways to ask a girl.

Gassing said, “it’s just fun for the guy to be on the other end of that, so you can have a role reversal. So that’s pretty cool.”

Doty said, “I don’t think it’ll really matter, a girl asking a guy. And I probably would [participate] because it’s just asking someone to a dance, it’s not a big deal. And it’ll just be fun to kind of change it up a little bit.”

Senior Andrews Dahms said, “I think it’s different, and I think it’d be fun to do.”