Posted on 10/17/2005 7:21:55 AM PDT by Millee
Brother Kenneth 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.
"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."
"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. (The school) is willing to sponsor a prom but not an orgy."
The move brought a mixed, albeit passionate, reaction from students and parents at the Roman Catholic school, which is owned by the Society of Mary (Marianists), a religious order of priests and brothers.
"I don't think it's fair, obviously, that they canceled prom," said senior Alyssa Johnson of Westbury. "There are problems with the prom, but I don't think their reasons or the actions they took solved anything."
Hoagland began talking about the future of the prom last spring after 46 Kellenberg seniors made a $10,000 down payment on a $20,000 rental in the Hamptons for a post-prom party. When school officials found out, they forced the students to cancel the deal; the kids got their money back, and the prom went on as planned. But some parents went ahead and rented a Hamptons house anyway, Hoagland said.
Amy Best, an associate professor of sociology and anthropology at George Mason University in Virginia and the author of "Prom Night: Youth, Schools and Popular Culture," said this is the first time she has heard of a school canceling the prom for such reasons.
"A lot of people have lamented the growing consumption that surrounds the prom," she said, noting it is not uncommon for students to pay $1,000 on the dance and surrounding costs: expensive dresses, tuxedo rentals, flowers, limousines, pre- and post-prom parties.
Edward Lawson, the father of a Kellenberg senior, said he and other parents are discussing whether to organize a prom without the sponsorship of the 2,500- student school.
"I don't think they have a right to judge what goes on after the prom," he said. "They put everybody in the category of drinkers and drug addicts."
Some parents picking up their children on a recent afternoon said they support Hoagland.
"The school has excellent values," said Margaret Cameron of Plainview, N.Y. "We send our children here because we support the values and the administration of the school, and I totally back everything they do."
Yes I do. Lots of times. It's something that my fiance and I talk about a lot.
I never went to a prom, either. I went to an all boys jesuit school and at the time, I couldn't get a woman to give me attentionif my life depended on it! :-)
You're a VET!
I am an Evangelical, but read my tagline. It is a dig at a similar type phenomenoh going on in prosperous Christian churches.
That's wise, and probably less controversial. Everybody is still free to have a 'booze cruise' or rent a Hamptons house for $10k of course, but the church/school's 'branding' of the event - and it's satellites - is now gone.
Read the letters and don't rely on the AP to tell you the whole story. They neither have the space nor do they have the interest in accurately depicting the news about moral issues...
I have my kids in a non sectarian private school because the local catholic academy has a worse drinking and drug problem, according to my teen snitches (aka babysitters I pump for info!)
It also has a bigger problem with conspicuous affluence, a huge issue for me.
Catholic schools are not NECESSARILY a bastion of goodness and clean living. That is not meant to catholic bash, by any means.
It all depends on the parents in the school.
"Yes I do. Lots of times. It's something that my fiance and I talk about a lot."
Now I find THAT interesting. Would you care to share some of those thoughts?
"Haven't we learned by now not to trust the AP to tell the whole truth?"
Be my guest. I seem to be spouting many future taglines these days...Thank you Free Republic!
"I am an Evangelical,:
Don't worry, we won't generalize, nor will be criticize your faith...it's called respect.
One can most assuredly be secure in one's faith and be offended by generalizations...that was the point.
if you read my posts up the thread you would know that i am intimately familiar with the bad actors that are in catholic schools.my daughter attends an all girls catholic HS very similar to the one described here. it is always going to come down to the parents. i live in an affluent area, those problems are prevalent here, regardless of the denomination.
We talk about the catholic faith and church a lot. I'm not going to get into specifics but things like married priests, girls being altar servers,etc. are some the things that concern me.
It depends on the school and the parents. Our local catholic school (a well respected academy) has a huge drug and drinking problem. It also has a real issue with the boys fighting. One senior went to jail a year or so ago for knifing a kid, if you can believe it.
I live in a very catholic city. A lot of people send their kids to catholic school because it is the thing to do, not because they are looking for any moral guidance. I have a friend who sends her kids to catholic school til they are confirmed then moves them to another private school, simply because she doesn't want to drive them to CCD!
The problem at the school in question seems to be parents who don't give a dang what the kids are doing after the prom. If the parents won't parent it doesn't matter what the morals of the school.
Not so. Read it again:
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....
It's a question of drinking AND drugs AND sex AND decadence. He is a moral teacher at a private religious school...shouldn't he teach these things?
"Greed is the engine of Prosperity"
"I'm not going to get into specifics but things like married priests, girls being altar servers,etc. are some the things that concern me."
I understand. One needs to have correct Catholic teaching and be familiar with Church law, doctrine, on the above and other "concerning" issues. I trust you both have?
"bacchanalian aspects."
Anyone care to bet that some less-educated parent is concerned the kids almost got food poisoning?
Or perhaps someone would comment that they don't want to hear that "classical junk".
You seem to have an agenda here. Cyborg is a stalwart on the Catholic threads, a far better one than most of us I warrent. Chill.
I would withold judgement on the precise wording of the letter until we actually see it. Consider the source: this particular wording sounds more like something an AP editor would say.
Yes, though he has more than I do.
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