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Home > Entertainment > Popular Culture'Footloose' meets real life: Top 10 high school dance controversies (videos)Published: Tuesday, February 01, 2011, 3:30 PM Updated: Tuesday, February 01, 2011, 4:08 PM
By John Kroll, The Plain Dealer
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View full sizeKraig Scattarella, The OregonianA style of dance called "grinding" prompted Cleveland High School in Oregon to call off the winter formal because the dance is too provocative.
It's a familiar story: A school gets upset about student behavior, and the crackdown comes -- on the dance.
In one of the latest examples, the school is Medina High School, and the crackdown includes a dress code ("no hats"), a ban on "inappropriate" dancing and a breath analyzer check for everyone who attends.
In the grand tradition of "Footloose," the iconic movie chronicling the return of teen dancing to a dusty town, Medina teens are fighting back with their own dance.
The Medina controversy touches on several issues that have recurred across the country, which got us thinking about what the most common or famous problems are. So here's our list (entirely subjective):
Also-ran: Prom themes
Las Vegas prom theme stirs controversy (Cougar Print) ... "Seven Deadly Sins" theme criticized. (John Burroughs School) ... California school tells Class of '99 that "Party like it's 1999" has drug connotations. (Los Angeles Times)
10. Prom on a school night
Where: Pearl River High School, Pearl River, N.Y.
When: 2010
Issue: "Debauchery"
Good Morning America reported:
This year's Pearl River High School junior prom was Wednesday night. And students were expected in class this morning -- or else.
The controversial prom was Principal Bill Furdon's answer to last year's prom debauchery, where students pulled a drunken all-nighter and posted pictures on Facebook.
"We had one bus come back with a girl that was nonresponsive," Furdon said of an event where 50 teens were cited for underage drinking. "Paramedics were called here to the school. And you go, 'Wait a minute.' "
9. Muslim values
Where: Fordson High School, Dearborn, Mich.
When: 2006
Issue: Mixed-sex dancing
Arab-American News reported:
[Imad] Fadlallah was hired in 2004 to lead Fordson High, one of the largest high schools in the region. It is estimated that over 90% of Fordson's almost 2,500 students are Arabic-speaking Muslims. The Senior Prom is an annual "rite of passage" for American high school students. ... It is no secret that the evening often leads to students drinking, abusing drugs, and engaging in premarital sex.
Fadlallah's head shook in confusion as he described his initial reaction after having attended last year's prom. "It was culture shock. I tried to swallow it but I couldn't. Any way you look at it it's not right. American values are higher than this." Fadlallah was disgusted by the nature of the dancing and interaction between students of the opposite sex.
Same tune, different schools: California Muslims create their own prom, for girls only. (New York Times) ... Toronto-area Muslims establish single-sex dances. (Toronto Star) ... 7 things Muslim communities can do about proms (Sound Vision) ... University of Minnesota Islamic cultural center runs high school prom, bars boys and nonbelievers. (Education Wonks) ... Creating a prom without boys (American Muslim)
8. Pranks and misbehaving
Where: Jackson High School, Mill Creek, Wash.
When: 2009
Issue: Withholding prom as a punishment
The Seattle Times reported:
Andrew King got a text message in his third-period class: There's gonna be a food fight at lunch.
Other Jackson High School students heard the rumors in the halls. So when first lunch period began around 11 a.m. Thursday, students at the Mill Creek school say, tension filled the air...
Then a carton of milk flew through the air and splattered on the floor.
Before it was over, a package of Cup Noodles had been launched, along with fruit, chocolate milk, Tater Tots, sandwiches and coffee cake. One student emptied a condiment tray of relish over another student's head, according to one witness.
"Once food started flying, it was all over the ceiling and floor," said King, a junior, who estimated that more than 100 kids took part. "It was pretty great."
Same tune, different schools: Half Moon Bay High in California threatens to cancel prom after graffiti appears protesting the school's use of video cameras to watch students (Half Moon Bay Review). ... St. Peter's School in Exeter, England, threatens to cancel prom unless students give up name of boy who wolf-whistled at female teacher during assembly (This Is Exeter).
7. Breath analyzers
Where: Medina High School, Medina, Ohio
When: 2011
Issue: Drunkenness
The Sun News reported:
This weekend’s “Sweetheart’s Dance” at Medina High School won’t be the only game in town.
In the wake of the release of new dance policies at MHS ... a group of students has put together another event opposite the Feb. 5 “Sweetheart’s Dance.”
MHS’s revised rules — including mandatory Breathalyzer screenings — were drawn up by an ad hoc committee in November.
... "This was a long time coming,"[Principal Bryan] Farson said. "It’s just one of those things where we’ve had issues in the past." At last fall’s Homecoming dance, two students caused a bit of an uproar after showing up intoxicated.
Same tune, different schools: Chaperones tired of dealing with drunks, so Boston school uses breath analyzers at dances. (AP) ... Breath analyzers becoming a common prom accessory. (AP) ... South Carolina school calls off breath analyzers after concerns about student rights. (WSPA) ... Cincinnati-area student council votes unanimously for breath analyzers at dance. (Riverfront Times) ... Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire: Breath analyzers take hold at proms (Total DUI)
6. Overspending
Where: Kellenberg Memorial High School, Uniondale, N.Y.
When: 2005
Issue: " Financial decadence"
Fox News reported:
"It is not primarily the sex/booze/drugs that surround this event, as problematic as they might be; it is rather the flaunting of affluence, assuming exaggerated expenses, a pursuit of vanity for vanity's sake — in a word, financial decadence," [Brother Kenneth] Hoagland said, fed up with what he called the "bacchanalian aspects."
"Each year it gets worse — becomes more exaggerated, more expensive, more emotionally traumatic," he added. "We are withdrawing from the battle and allowing the parents full responsibility. [Kellenberg] is willing to sponsor a prom, but not an orgy."
Same tune, different schools: Alameda School in Bedfordshire, England, cancels prom after someone arrives in "a monster tractor which must have cost around £30,000 and ... could hardly get up the drive." (Telegraph) ... Proms across the country canceled as spending gets out of hand. (New York Times)
5. Integration
Where: Charleston High School, Charleston, Miss.
When: 2008
Issue: End of segregation
NPR reported:
As far back as 1997, actor Morgan Freeman, a Charleston local, offered to pay for the dance if everyone could go. This year, officials finally accepted the offer. A Canadian film crew led by Paul Saltzman documented the event for the upcoming "Prom Night in Mississippi."
A photographer working with the crew says people in Charleston didn't question the segregated dances. But as the big night approached, the importance of the change became clear. Catherine Farquharson ... describes one encounter in an African-American beauty parlor, in which an elderly woman who'd been part of the civil rights movement stopped in to see what the hubbub was about. The woman ended up giving an impromptu testimony about the history these young people were about to make. "It was almost like it didn't occur to a lot of the kids, until the day of the prom, how important what was going on really was," Farquharson reports.
Same tune, different schools: School still holds segregated proms -- in 2009. (New York Times) ... Georgia high school holds first integrated prom. (CNN)
4. Dress codes
Where: Madison High School, Houston, Texas
When: 2008
Issue: Inappropriate attire
ABC News reported:
For high school student Marche Taylor, the prom may be a night to forget, not remember, after a dispute over her midriff-baring dress ended with her in handcuffs.
When she arrived for her prom Saturday night in an outfit that consisted of a short skirt and straps of material across her chest, the 17-year-old Houston senior was told to go home and change if she wanted to be admitted, according to school officials.
... "After she was told she would not be allowed in unless she went home and changed, [Taylor] became aggressive and belligerent and eventually police were called to escort her from the building," [school district press secretary Terry] Abbott said. Police hired internally by the school district handcuffed the teen and placed her in a patrol car until she calmed down, Abbott said.
Same tune, different schools: 25 students turned away from prom over dress code. (Times Picayune) ... 18 Alabama students accused of violating prom dress code, given choice of suspension or paddling. (WPBF)
3. Dirty dancing
Where: Cleveland High School, Portland, Ore.
When: 2010
Issue: Grinding, daggering, freak dancing
The Oregonian reported:
Tired of students' provocative dancing, the teachers at Cleveland High School took a stand: They refused to chaperone the winter formal.
Now the January dance is off ...
"We tried changing the music," said Vice Principal Pam Joyner ... "One year we sold T-shirts that said 'No bumping, no grinding' to promote clean dancing. We had chaperones use flashlights to shine on couples dancing inappropriately. I even spoke at one of the dances. We stopped a dance to clean it up."
Same tune, different schools: Tired of cleaning bodily fluids on the floor, Pennsylvania school bars dirty dancing. (NBC Philadelphia) ... Dublin, Ohio, school uses wristbands to keep track of dirty dancers. (Columbus Dispatch) ... North Medford, Ore., school shines flashlights on dancers to find violators. (Mail Tribune) ... Nebraska schools crack down on grinding. (Action 3 News) ... Kansas students must sign pledge not to grind. (ABC News) ... Concord, N.H., school cancels dances because of grinding. (Concord Monitor) ... Texas high school bans freak dancing. (Wall Street Journal) ... New Hampshire school may cancel all dances because of inappropriate moves. (Boston Herald) ... Two California Catholic schools close down prom early after DJ announces he's been ordered not to play hip-hop and rap. (Press Democrat)
2. Homosexual couples
Where: Itawamba County Agricultural High School, Fulton, Miss.
When: 2010
Issue: Same-sex dating
CBS News reported:
"They had two proms and I was only invited to one of them," [Constance] McMillen told the [The Advocate] magazine. "The one that I went to had seven people there, and everyone went to the other one I wasn’t invited to."
... According to McMillen, the prom she attended was at a country club. She said of the five other students at the country club, two had learning disabilities.
Same tune, different schools: Canadian court orders Monsignor John Pereyma High School to let a male student take his boyfriend to prom (Xtra.com). ... "Kings and Queens: Queers at the Prom" (on Google Books)
1. Christian values
Where: Heritage Christian School, Findlay, Ohio
When: 2009
Issue: Dancing, hand-holding
ABC News reported:
[Principal] Charles Salter has banned all dances until the kids clean up their act.
... What moved the head of Aliso Niguel High School to make such a drastic move?
"Freak dancing" or "freakin'," an intimate hip-hop dance style between a boy and a girl, or two girls.
"I saw a girl, she was about 14 or 15 years old," Salter says. "She was bent over, dancing with a young man who must have been a junior and he was gyrating and thrusting on top of her."
The original
Where: Elmore City High School, Elmore City, Okla.
When: 1980
Issue: Dancing
People magazine reported:
Among the modern vices that never took hold in Elmore City was public dancing. In fact, it has been forbidden by law since the town was founded. ... Last January the juniors and seniors at Elmore City High School asked that the rules be changed, or at least bent. The reason: They wanted to have a prom. As junior class president Rex Kennedy, 17, respectfully put it to the school board: "We would like to have a few nice memories."
... Sides were chosen immediately. "No good has ever come from a dance," thundered the Rev. F.R. Johnson of the United Pentecostal Church in nearby Hennepin—the father of two teenage daughters. "If you have a dance somebody will crash it and they'll be looking for only two things—women and booze. When boys and girls hold each other, they get sexually aroused. You can believe what you want, but one thing leads to another." The Rev. Johnson insisted he spoke for many of the churchmen in the area and many of their parishioners. At a town meeting to consider the question in February, a local citizen predicted that after the dance there would be a surge in pregnancies at the school "because when boys and girls breathe in each other's ears, that's the next step."
In 2010, Elmore City celebrated the 30th anniversary of its first prom.
Related topics: dances, drinking, footloose, medina, proms
prom is a extracurricular activity not a right. if the kids don't like the rules they can stay home.
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2r2d2:
If they paid for it out of their own money, it is indeed a "right".
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Top ten things i wish i never clicked on...
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HOw fun is it to watch old people begin to forget what they were like at that age....
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Can I go back to high school now?!!?
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Hey liberal parents. Dont have problems with any of the promiscuity, grinding, drinking, motel hook-ups? Neither do we. As one of the Leaders of the NE Ohio Strippers Union, I can tell you we are always looking for the next generation of strippers named Mackenzie top exploit.
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stlydnfan:
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Wow overreaction at it's finest. While I agree that no one should be allowed anywhere near these dances but trying to restrict dancing is preposterous. Dancing never got anyone pregnant and isn't a precursor to promiscuity, and keeping kids from grinding isn't stopping teenage sex.
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Should read nowhere near these dances drunk.
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Dances at schools is not a right. If they can't behave no dances. Let parents pay for and chaparone dances. Maybe they can keep their kids in line. All you libs, yes we pushed the envelope as teens, but not as much ss they do today. You libs who want nothing censored say if parents don't like what is on TV, turn the channel. Well if school officials don't like what they see at dances then they should ban dances. But you don't like that . You talk from both sides of your mouths. If something is to your liking it is alright but if you disagree with it, then everyone else is wrong.
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They are not nor should they be acceptable for a formale function such as a prom, and the students are in fact minors, who need to learn when and where dancing like that is and is not acceptable. The problem with this type of thing crosses the lines of acceptable formal functions, and a line needs to be drawn somewhere. REMEMBER they are minors.
They have the rest of their lives to act however they want.
Stay classy Cleveland (& surrounding suburbs)
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I have been a disc jockey entertainer now for 28 years. In that time I have seen much. What we watch in these videos has been going on for many years. I don't feel the kids should be grinding, drinking and hooking up etc. I do MY BEST to see to it that none of this happens. However I am one person. Many programs I do, the class advisors, chaperones are out in the halls not really doing what it is they should be doing. I have put in my contracts that I am not responsible for crowd behavior....First thing I would like to point out, and please remember you too were young, these kids work very hard for Jr/Sr. Proms. They have many dances and other activities to help raise money for the proms and senior trips etc...The students really do work hard and should be recognized for the hard work...My biggest complaint is...IF you giv them a inch...they will take the mile...so knoing this, just be in the same room and much of this doesn't happen. Dances are a good form of entertainment and keeps students off the streets and out of trouble. I know many dances we do here in our area, they have a Police officer which the class pays for. The class pays for this officer and it's not on the tax payers dime. As far as proms being to much money? Gosh they really are! Look at what weddings cost now. Any place you go where money can be charged...it will cost a premium. Proms are no exception...Prom Hall$$$ Photos $$$ Limo$$$ Dresses/Tux$$$ Entertainment$$$
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My favorite story is "Tired of cleaning bodily fluids on the floor." Some kid brought some shampoo or hand lotion and the custodian thinks it is something else!! Great prank.
Let the kids do what they want, if it's within the law. The chaperones probably secretly watch & enjoy the antics of the kids in the dark corners.
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This story already ran in the news, every year since Elvis twisted his hips around on stage. Old people who object to the way "these kids today" dance, and their "overly risque" music. This could be said by parents in every generation from the 1950's through today. Elvis, the stones and the Beatles music were banned at some high school dances and proms. Anyone else old enough to remember when K.C and the Sunshine band were banned from school dances? Disco is laughable today, but at the time it was the topic of "moral outrage".
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Yes, every generation thinks the one after is degenerate. But as parents, our job is to monitor and guide the kids. As GeneSimmons noted, these kids are minors. They're not thinking. Well, not with their brains, anyway. I'm betting the girl with the "dress" didn't have an involved father. Any man who remembers being a teen wouldn't let his daughter dress that way.
These kids are taking their cue from and mirroring what they see in pop culture. And adults are the ones in charge of creating those movies, videos, songs and TV shows. If parents want to make an impact on pop culture, they can vote with their wallets.
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Home > Entertainment > Popular Culture'Footloose' meets real life: Top 10 high school dance controversies (videos)Published: Tuesday, February 01, 2011, 3:30 PM Updated: Tuesday, February 01, 2011, 4:08 PM
By John Kroll, The Plain Dealer
SharecloseGoogle BuzzDiggStumble UponFarkShareEmailPrint
View full sizeKraig Scattarella, The OregonianA style of dance called "grinding" prompted Cleveland High School in Oregon to call off the winter formal because the dance is too provocative.
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