A second Catholic school on Long Island has canceled its senior and junior proms, school officials said yesterday.
Staff at Chaminade High School - an all-boys' school in Mineola run by the Marianist religious order - announced the cancellation Wednesday in school, and letters also were mailed to parents early Tuesday.
"The prom culture has turned from a formal celebration to a showcase featuring flamboyance, extremism and affluence," the letter reads. "In fact, many students seek to leave the celebration early to engage in excessive behaviors, some of which are illegal."
In September, Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale, also run by the Marianist order, pulled the plug on proms for similar reasons.
Chaminade's president, the Rev. James Williams, said yesterday that the modern prom is more about spreading peacock feathers than togetherness and farewells. "The prom is no longer the focus of the evening," Williams said, adding that most students make brief appearances in stretch limos and fancy outfits, then rush off elsewhere.
"It's very different than it was 15, 20 years ago," he added. "The evening is now about who will have the biggest limo, who has the biggest weekend planned. It's beyond reform."
Williams admitted that many students expressed disappointment when the announcement was made. But he said students seemed to have accepted the school's position, and many even agree with its arguments.
Both Chaminade and Kellenberg have encouraged students to develop alternative ideas to celebrate the year's end.
Since Kellenberg officials canceled the prom two months ago, students in Uniondale have proposed ideas ranging from a carnival or fair to various fund-raising events, said the school's principal, Brother Kenneth Hoagland. He said students have met formally twice to discuss plans.
"They've come to a sense that there are a variety of opinions," Hoagland said. "We like to see that they're involved in discussions. They're learning the art of dialogue and compromise."
Originally published on December 2, 2005