In a world where asking a date to prom has become more romantic than asking for a partner’s hand in marriage, one group of high school boys has gone the opposite direction.

For years, junior and senior boys at Corona del Mar High School have selected their dates for the formal dance through an NFL-style “Prom Draft.” The school’s principal is now condemning the tradition, saying it has the potential to objectify or judge those involved.

Though the draft is not affiliated with the school and secret for the most part, some of the draft results were broadcast on Twitter, with pictures of sport-coated teens making their selections. One tweet posted by the senior class Twitter account joked the day before Thursday’s draft that “Many drafters on the prowl tomorrow for #freeagents so dress nice ladies.”

A rule book sent out in a tweet notes that “sophomores can be drafted,” and some pictures show girls’ names printed on the back of jerseys. The Twitter account has since been deactivated, but several students continued to chatter about it on Twitter in the days following the draft.

Sophomore Jessie Harris was one of the girls included in the draft and said the negative coverage it generated on Tuesday was unnecessary.

“I am part of the draft and am friends with many girls in the draft and yes, in some instances girls can be picked by appearance,” she wrote to the Register. “It is all just a fun way to decide who you will be going to prom with. It is not meant to harm those who are picked and I do not believe that it does. It is not, was never, and will never ever be used to objectify the girls at our school.”

“Prom-posals” have grown ever more elaborate through the years with students staging flashmobs, viral videos and other public gestures. But parents and students not involved in the prom draft at Corona del Mar said the draft goes too far, objectifying young women based on appearance.

At neighboring Estancia High School, also in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, a club dedicated to discussing women’s rights issues released a statement saying the draft was “insulting.”

“Prom should be about having a fun time with your peers and celebrating the end of a successful academic year,” wrote senior Emily Flores, co-president of the Feminists United club at Estancia. “These boys must be very confused about the time we live in if they think that being asked to prom is such a high honor.”

Over the weekend, Corona del Mar High principal Kathy Scott sent parents an email after hearing that some parents had been contacted by the Register about the draft.

“I am sure that the intention of this ‘draft’ is not to be harmful, but it may be,” Scott wrote. “It is not OK for any student to be objectified or judged in any way.”

Parents have written to the Register saying the prom draft is not intended to rank young women and is just a way for groups of friends to sort out their prom plans. They also say that girls are free to turn down offers if they are drafted.

Scott discouraged the activity in her email to parents, saying, “This is not behavior that is consistent with our school’s outstanding reputation.”

“I urge you to talk with your student(s) and discuss the seriousness of this type of activity,” she wrote. “Prom is an important event in the lives of our students and I would hate to have to cancel it or any other important student related activity due to the negative actions of a few.”

Contact the writer: lsteussy@ocregister.com