Beehives, seagulls, arches, sego lilies, going on dates before a school dance- what are all these things symbols of? Utah. The 45th state was first established in 1896, and a lot of things from the landscape to the culture are very different from the rest of the states. But, one of the things crossing the minds of high school students across the state is: “Why the heck do Utah high schoolers go on day dates?” Day-dates have been around since before most can remember, but only in Utah. Why is that?
Day dates, for those who haven’t been born and raised in the Utahn climate, are normally an activity that takes place with a group of kids during the day before a dance that night. What’s not to love? Teens express the appreciation of getting to do something fun with a date, or just a group of friends, that tends to be more fun than the actual dance. “During the day dates you can actually spend time with the people and you aren’t just moshing.” said McKenzie Graaff, a senior who has been to her fill of school dances. Even Lil’ old Sam Roundy, a sophomore, described his first day-date as enjoyable. “Cause it’s fun! We ate dinner. Who doesn’t love dinner?”
But some seasoned seniors have mentioned the problems of company and money. “Waste of money, like they’re fun if you’re with the right people. If not then it’s just like an additional expense to something that’s already expensive.” Kat Monson said, when asked about her opinion on the subject.
There’s a very silly conundrum here, no one knows WHY students in Utah have been conditioned to go on “Day Dates” while all other states do not.
First hypothesis comes from the idea of chaperoning. In the 1800’s a chaperone (socially) was an older married woman who would accompany a younger, unmarried woman in public and especially when meeting a guy. Chaperones were there to maintain the “virtue” of the young people. Chaperones were expected to be a stern authority figure over who they were chaperoning; this, combined with the fact that young people typically had little or no say in the choice of a chaperone, could lead to resistance and rebellion on the part of the young people being supervised. The practice of one-on-one chaperones for social occasions has mostly fallen out of use in Western society. But because of the social climate from parents to teens today (especially in Utah) there’s a slight taboo of being alone on a date. When asking Brylie Peterson, junior, about what she thought about her parents’ opinions she said, “I think they’d be okay if they knew the person pretty well, but if they didn’t, I think they would rather just have me in a group.” Parents tend to just want to know that their kids aren’t all alone, which is becoming a lesser fear for some in the “maintaining virtue” sense, but a lot of it comes down to safety.
Dating violence or abuse is verbal, emotional, physical, or sexual abuse that occurs between two partners in a dating relationship. Teen dating violence is a public health crisis affecting millions of teens in the U.S. each year. Some of the biggest tips to avoid dating violence is to meet in a public place, or to group with people you know. According to 2021 data from the Youth Behavioral Risk Survey, 1 in 5 Utah teens were harmed by someone they were dating. Of teens who have experienced teen dating violence, only 33% talked to a trusted adult about it. The rate of kidnapping in Utah is 0.1567 per 1,000 residents during a standard year. There’s never a way to completely avoid risk but teens can use group dating as a safer alternative to single dating (especially when they don’t know their date), which also helps to ease tension, because both parties will feel more comfortable having the company of their friends so instead of being overly anxious, teens get to be in a larger group than just them and a date.
Group dating is one of the best ways to just have some good ol’ goofy fun before a dance. Whether it’s going to the dinosaur park, painting, or escape rooms there’s so much fun stuff to do with larger groups of different people. Also, it takes so much of the pressure off because there’s more people to talk to, more things to do and it’s just a good mood builder. It’s a mold breaker before a dance/stomp, which is honestly just awkward when it’s not fun.
Take every possibility for the weird Utahn way of day dates in the best way. There’s a lot of benefits to them such as safety, fun, and just getting a foot in the door with someone. But honestly, no one knows exactly WHY Utah teens have “Day Dates” so basically, it’s just a way to have a great time before absolutely tearing up the dance floor.