To be a Deb or not to be a Deb?

[trojangal]

In Birmingham, we have several debutante balls, usually affiliated with the ballet, symphony, and graduate chapters of some sororities. The main difference that I've seen in them is that the African-American debutantes are usually high school seniors ( as one of my own students did her debut this past fall) where as the predominantly white debutantes are generally college freshman or sophomores. A friend of mine attended her niece's debutante ball in Texas and said it was gorgeous, but a little pricey. Parents had to drop $10,000 to start with, not counting dress and other expenses. Total tab at the end of the season she said was around $19K