Brother Kenneth M. Hoagland had heard all the stories about prom-night debauchery at his Long Island high school:
Students putting down $10,000 to rent a party house in the Hamptons.
Pre-prom cocktail parties followed by a trip to the dance in a liquor-loaded limo.
Fathers chartering a boat for their children’s late-night “booze cruise.”
Enough was enough, Hoagland said. So the principal of Kellenberg Memorial High School canceled the spring prom in a 2,000-word letter to parents this fall.
“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,” Hoagland said, fed up with what he called the “bacchanalian aspects.”
“We are withdrawing from the battle and allowing the parents full responsibility. [Kellenberg] is willing to sponsor a prom, but not an orgy.”
Chris Laine, a senior from Rockville Centre, said the cancellation was “unfortunate, but you can’t really argue with the facts they present. … It’s just what it’s evolved into. It’s not what it was 20, 30 or 40 years ago. It’s turned into something it wasn’t originally intended to be.”
Besides, Laine noted, the senior class still has a four-day trip to Disney World scheduled for April.
“We go to all the parks with our friends,” Laine said just before hopping into his jet-black Infiniti and driving off to meet friends for an after-school snack.
“We fly down together and stay in the same hotel and so it’s not like we’re totally losing everything.”
Has anyone else been watching “Rome” on HBO?
I couldn’t get myself into “Rome” for some reason.
The tradition of prom has evolved into what kids define as “coming of age.” It’s becoming the mentality that prom night is the night to have sex with your virgin high school sweetheart, if he or she is still a virgin to begin with. For guys, it’s becoming all about getting laid. For girls, it’s an excuse to rack up multiple credit card purchases on makeovers, dresses, and jewelry.
At the beginning of my prom only a couple years ago, I was extremely impressed with the beginning of the night when Sinatra music was playing. Unfortunately, that only lasted 30 minutes until rap music began to blast out of the speakers as a DJ took the stage. Chivalry is tossed out the window in today’s proms, and the only part of my prom I don’t regret is my date. Isn’t that what it is all about in the first place?
The Grinich that Stole the Prom Before Christmas?
Talk about an overreacation, and him decrying and preaching against “financial decadence”? The kids signed up to be monks? It’s not his decision to make, nor his money, and after 4 years of hell (reliving my 80s life) one night of financial decadence, and vanity for vanity’s sake, would do people a whole lotta good. Geesh, it’s the prom, not Church Night. And High School ‘stories’ are to be greatly discounted, the wise Educator is also a skeptic, one-upmanship tall-tales are the norm. And the kids, if they are smart, will organize and hold their own prom of sorts, we did even so, you had the D&D Geek, Modder, Punk, Gothic, Classic Rock Metalhead Stoner, Corn Chipper, New Waver, Christian Youth Group alternative extra proms. Prom Diversity, all were Kings and Queens, no King George the III’s need apply. Celebrate, be vain and wild (within reason), as college starts soon and then the real world kicks in, and that’s when REAL angst starts. Lighten up, geesh. Be vain, have fun, have some wild stories worth recalling at the reunions.
I applaud him for actually standing up for the religion behind the school. It is entirely logical. Based on the behavior and comments from this school I can see that christianity has not helped this students, or their parents. People taking a stand is fine, especially in a 6k a year private school, if their customers want to pay for those standards then it is their choice, and choice is what allows a strong America.
No one can condemn this who does not pay to attend this school, it is their call.
God, what’s with you people. Why in the f#uck should schools be sponsoring proms in the first place?! If parents wants their kids to dress up, get shit-faced, and get laid, let them do it and keep the schools out of it.
Christopher it may be getting off topic some, but the last thing we need for our youth to do today is to become even MORE vain and MORE decadent than they are. I believe the sort of mindset the principal was trying to diminish is not one inspired toward fun and coming-of-age type of things, but the mindset that alot of americans seem to have with ridiculous lavishness. How about the mom who drives to school to pick up her second grader in a hummer? Or how about the boy with the motorized scootter? How about the way we dresss up our high school girls to look like sluts and the way we expect our men and boys to deal with it. How about the fact that any one of these rich kids could be caught drinking or doing drugs but nothing would come of it, because, after all, they are just young boys and girls (rich ones anyway) having some fun and coming-of-age.
Now, when these kids grow up they will have little respect for anyone other than themselves and will be so selfish and stuck up they will expect everyone else in the world to bend over backwards for them. Pretty muich all I’m trying to say is, anyone with money today, even people who are upper-middle class somehow feel like they are owed and deserving of more than others. Basically a bunch of assholes. And the more we lavish on or children that this is okay by allowing them to rent boats, and houses, and take trips to Disney world, things I never had an opportunity to do in high school as an average american, the more they will grow up with this picture in their heads that they are special and more deserving, They will get into the best schools and get the best jobs and become some of the world’s biggest assholes.
I’m watching Rome – and really enjoying it!
I guess I am not as pessimistic, The Depression Generation thought the Greatest a buncha amoral spolied brats, later only redeemed by a war. The Greatest Generation thought the Boomers and the 60s Flower kiddies as the end of the world. And the Boomers thought GenX was the Apocalypse as GenX told the idealists to shove the peace, love and understanding rot. The GenX’ers rebeled by becoming Alex P. Keaton’s and voting Republican. Now Greatest, Boomer AND GenX looking at GenY and Z (or Shampoo Planet’ers per the Coupland novel) as wanton, amoral and all a buncha sniffling spolied brats. Fast-forward a few decades and it will all repeat itself. Nothing new since the dawn of time.
Excellent move. The youth of America should be able to lose their virginity without spending so much money.
That was the point, wasn’t it?
Ima
It is precisely because of those reasons that this prom was canceled. If the parents wish to allow their children to drink and have sex, both of which would be illegal for the majority of prom goers, then let them have their own party. As long as the prom is held on school property or under school sanction then it is the school that will bear some responsibility.
As you know, I am against censorship. The reasons given by the Principal in this case though, fully explain why and are sound. Without saying so, he doesn’t want to personally contribute to illegal conduct or put his school in the position of being an active participant in illegal, and in his eyes, immoral behavior.
People have been whining about the younger generation for as long as there have been younger generations. People really ought to remember that. Every generation thinks the coming one is crazy, disrespectful and the downfall of society. It is no more true today than it was fourty years ago. People are just people. Issues change, music changes, and fashion changes but people basically stay the same. Older people whine about younger ones, and younger ones rebel against the older. It shall always be thus.
Sounds like somebody should have gotten Brother Ken a date
It starts in elementary school. The PTAs are way more concerned with parties, activities and “fun” than they are with curriculum and academics. Hoagland got it right, and for lots of reasons. Financial decadence is a scourge in this country. Spoiled and lazy teens who cannot do a thing for themselves expecting lavishness when they have done nothing to deserve it except to go to school which is (a) the law; and (b) in their own best interest. This critique is not directed at the kids necessarily. It is parents who need to learn to say “no” to their children so that their children will learn how to say “no” to themselves. It’s an important life lesson.