Who would’ve thought that 2013 would be the year in which CHS would have a young man run for prom queen? Apparently, not many, as it shocked the school. Hearing this news led to many subtle and heavy opinions on the situation.

To get a glimpse of what the candidate, senior Leonardo Salazar, was thinking, the Pepper Bough got an exclusive interview with him.

The main reason Salazar ran for prom queen “was to show change and to change tradition within the school,” Salazar says. He did not run for king because he thought, “it would’ve been an easy win.” After making prom court he said, “I feel like I’m already making a change.” With no big obstacles keeping him from winning, he told us that he was really excited  for prom. He let us know that winning wasn’t really the whole point and just running showed enough change for the school, for now.

Clearly ASB, who is in charge of Prom and the King and Queen election process, would have a reaction to a young man running for prom queen. It turns out they were very interested. According to ASB President Briana Heredia, the group was “neither for nor against it.” Since the first prom at Colton High School many decades ago, Heredia said, “this has never been attempted before,” so it would come as a surprise to ASB. Not much controversy but still much shock.

Even with all the hype going on about it, Salazar did not end up winning the title of Prom Queen. Instead the win went to fellow candidate Marcilena Valenzuela. He did not win but he did, in a way, cause advancement within the school, by starting a conversation about gender roles and traditions. And that, he says, was the point.