You will bawl: Winter formal title changed due to sexual innuendo

Our View

When we first heard the Yule Ball was being changed for its inappropriate name, we thought it was a joke. How could one possibly miss a reference to Harry Potter, one of the most defining books of our generation? Furthermore, how could one not possibly distinguish the meaning of the word “ball,” given the proper context? The SNL skit “Schweddy Balls” blatantly played on the misconception of the word “balls.” The man’s last name was Schweddy, and he ran a company selling festive candies.

But it was not a joke. According to the administration, the name of the dance had been changed because of continuous complaints from staff members. The phrase “Yule Ball” apparently sounds a lot like “you will ball,” an eighties slang term for “having sex.” This reference slid right over the heads of students, but left many staff members questioning the appropriateness. We understand the necessity for our administration to monitor the school and maintain its image, but this is a case of making something out of nothing; our generation saw the phrase as merely a pop culture reference. If the teachers find the phrase to be a sexual innuendo, doesn’t that make them the ones with their minds in the gutter, not the students?

To make matters worse, student senate had already received approval to make posters advertising the winter formal and spent a decent amount of time and money on it. If they had been told to change the name before preparing for it, it would have made their lives a bit easier as well. But because of the teachers’ influence, the dance was renamed to “Snow Ball,” much less enticing of a name for a winter formal that has never succeeded in the past. If people want to go to a dance called the “Yule Ball,” then let them go.