photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Free State High School juniors Jackson Roberts and Evie Stull bonded over solving crossword puzzles together. Jackson reached out to David Steinberg, the editor of the internationally syndicated Universal Crossword, for help with a "promposal" that ended with the pair collaborating on a custom puzzle for Evie to solve.

For most high-schoolers inviting someone to prom, a “promposal” might involve a clever pun on poster board or perhaps a dramatic public gesture. Free State High School junior Jackson Roberts, however, had a different — and more subtle — idea.

Jackson and fellow Free State junior Evie Stull had become close after making a habit of solving online crossword puzzles together during their free period each day at school, so, when prom season rolled around, Jackson decided that a crossword would be the perfect way to ask Evie to be his date.

He began to reach out to crossword constructors and editors to ask about adding some clues to an upcoming puzzle that could help him pop the prom question. Eventually Jackson ended up getting assistance from not just any crossword professional, but from David Steinberg, the editor of the internationally syndicated Universal Crossword.

“I think doing things like this while we’re in high school and in a high school relationship is more fun, because you don’t have a lot of money, you don’t have a lot of resources,” Jackson told the Journal-World. “You kind of have to be creative. Moments like this, you have to put time into.”

Jackson, the son of Scott and Erin Roberts, said that Steinberg was quick to respond to his email, but Steinberg explained that because the puzzles are constructed a month in advance of when they’re syndicated, he wouldn’t be able to add any prom-related clues to one that would run before the prom takes place, which is April 30. Instead, Steinberg pitched constructing a custom puzzle, just for Evie and Jackson, and they got to work.

photo by: Contributed

David Steinberg is editor of the Universal Crossword, an internationally syndicated puzzle published by Andrews McMeel Universal.

Steinberg, speaking to the Journal-World via Zoom Thursday, said it was a true collaboration. The puzzle, titled “A Sneaky Proposal,” has a byline of David Steinberg and Anonymous, which was meant to help keep the element of surprise alive until Evie had solved it. Steinberg first constructed the puzzle grid, and Jackson came up with the words to fill it and, after that, the clues to solve it. That three-step process is how every crossword is created, Steinberg said.

The puzzle in question included solutions to two key clues. One of them, 11-Across, was Evie’s full first name, Genevieve. The other, of course, was prom. The clue itself was how Jackson officially asked Evie to be his date: “11-Across, will you go with me to the ___?”

There was one catch. While the pair usually worked puzzles from a web browser, this custom puzzle was a PDF and would need to be printed. Jackson dodged any questions about the format by setting the stage early; he began bringing paper copies of puzzles to school for the week before the big day so as not to arouse suspicion. Since Jackson helped create the puzzle, he also had to be especially careful to pretend he didn’t know all the answers.

And it worked. Evie said she was completely surprised, and actually didn’t even catch that the puzzle was a prom invite at first. She solved the prom clue before the one with her name, and then it dawned on her.

“I didn’t think anything of it,” Evie, the daughter of Doug Stull and Lori Norwood, told the Journal-World. “I was like, ‘OK, got the clue.’ And then I looked back up at him, and I was like ‘Wait,’ and I realized what was happening.”

It was special, the couple agreed, because it was inspired by something they do together every day.

Steinberg, for his part, said he was happy to help when Jackson approached him with the promposal idea, in part because he also had developed an interest in crossword puzzles at a young age. By age 14, one of Steinberg’s puzzles had run in The New York Times. Now 25, he was excited to play a part in nurturing that same interest for another high school-age pair.

“I feel like we need to kind of inspire the younger generations to keep doing crossword puzzles,” Steinberg said. “Otherwise, there’s a risk that they’ll die out, and it’ll just kind of be something that the older audience likes.”

Steinberg was willing to help for other reasons too. For one, he wasn’t able to attend his own high school prom because it conflicted with a college event.

He also has plenty of personal ties to the Lawrence area. The Universal Crossword is syndicated by Andrews McMeel Publishing, which is based in Kansas City, Missouri, and one of the publications it’s published in is the Journal-World. Steinberg lived in Kansas City for about a year when he first started working for the company and visited Lawrence while based there. He said he still has a bottle cap from a visit to Mass Street Soda.

The crossword was indeed successful; Evie said yes, and the pair is planning on attending Free State’s prom at the end of this month. They’ll technically be using a loophole to go, each officially attending with an older friend, since the school hosts only a senior prom.

Evie said they’re hoping for their experience to be a relatively low-key affair, so as not to take anything away from this year’s Free State seniors. The couple said see themselves more as “spectators” this time, and they plan to pull out all the stops next year.

As for next year’s promposal, Jackson said it would be a challenge.

“I don’t know how I’m supposed to top this next year,” he joked.