Forget About the Prom Lemoore High

Original Post 12/31/2004:

LEMOORE - Hold the shopping for that pretty dress and don't reserve the limo yet. This year's Lemoore High School junior/senior prom has been canceled.

According to LHS Principal Jim Bennett, the decision was not an easy one to make.

"I have approached students at dances, and before they occur, about this behavior for months," Bennett said. "We (school staff) have explained to students that certain types of dancing are not appropriate. I also warned them that this would happen if things didn't change."

Students, according to Bennett, are "freak dancing" - performing exceedingly sexually provocative moves that are not appropriate at school-sponsored events.
Read the rest at the Hanford Sentinel.

When I first heard about this, I laughed and called my wife, who graduated from Lemoore High School in '95. I thought it was a great idea. If the "freak" dancing doesn't stop, then NO DANCING AT ALL! I guess Principal Bennett wanted to ring in the New Year with a little bit of controversy.

After thinking more about it, I started to have a change of heart. It's not that I think kids should be allowed to "freak" each other at school, but what about all of those kids who don't participate in that dancing? I'm sure there are still students at LHS who dance like the scene from Napoleon Dynamite shown to the right. I went to 4 proms between my junior/senior years. I had no clue how to "freak" dance, nor did I want to learn how. I just enjoyed a night out with friends. High School Prom is such a part of the whole experience. Everyone remembers who they went with, what kind of dress or tux they wore, where it was at, yada, yada, yada. To take that experience away from every student due to the idiocy of a few is not fair. I'm sure he will rethink things after all of the parent letters come in. I know I would.

BTW: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Update 1/10: The story has caught on at CQ, one of the elite political blogs. Check out what the blogosphere is saying about the story.

Update 1/11/2005: When I posted this article back on New Years Eve, never did I think the attention to the story would become national. Yesterday I mentioned that Captain's Quarter's had posted about it. You can read his thoughts here. Today I discovered that MTV has even talked about the story. MTV mentions an occasion in NV where another principle canceled school dances. His car was vandalized and the dances were held by the school's parents at a local dance hall. Jim Bennett is sticking by his reasoning stating, "There will be no more dances at Lemoore until the student sponsors of the dances abide by two conditions: Number one, no freak dancing, and number two, the administrators don't have to assure number one," Bennett said. "Whether or not that will work, we'll have to see."

Update 1/20: I agree wholeheartedly that freak dancing should be squelched immediately when it occus on the dance floor of a high school gym. I have also heard since posting about this that school dances are much worse than when I was there ('96 grad). I realize that the freak dancing is much more sexual now as well. People simulating sex like a Brittany Spears concert. That being said, I completely understand Principal Bennett's concerns.

My proposal: Have an 80's dance music theme, or Disco night. If the music isn't "freak dance" material, won't the dancing become more acceptable (and talented for that matter)? As long as the DJ's are allowed to play the artists with sexually-charged lyrics, that's what the kids will learn to dance to.

You can check Lemoore High's website for updates on the status of the dances. The students in charge of dances are attempting to work out a solution.