Shelton High School administrators continued to audition for the John Lithgow role in “Footloose” Monday during a press conference explaining their decision to regulate what girls can wear to an upcoming prom.
“As a school system we have the right, and I think we have the responsibility, to set a standard,” Shelton Schools Superintendent Freeman Burr said.
The drama in Shelton started Friday, when Shelton Headmaster Beth Smith sent word to students reminding them they can’t wear anything too revealing to the prom.
School officials had apparently been lurking on social media and saw dresses that caused them concern. Students immediately contacted TV news, this being 2015 and all.
About seven girls were told they’d have to find dresses that showed less skin.
Shelton students think the whole thing is absurd, and pointed out forcing students to get new dresses this close to prom season isn’t fair.
Hundreds of Shelton students signed a petition protesting the decision. The petition pointed out the school’s prom policy is vague. Students also pointed out that school administrators appear to be specifically hung up on what girls wear.
The prom dress story struck a nerve nationally, with Seventeen magazine aggregating the story.
The story has been a talker on the Valley Indy’s Facebook page, with all sorts of opinions being shared, including whether the story is news.
A post in Shelton Taxpayers for Accountability and Transparency, a Facebook group that publicizes the city’s budget meetings and offers a forum for comment, pointed out the city’s annual budget isn’t getting nearly as much attention as the dress drama.
(FYI: Shelton Board of Aldermen public hearing on the Mayor’s Budget, Tuesday 5/12/15, City Hall auditorium, 7 p.m.)
Shelton is no newbie when it comes to controversy during prom season, and Smith is a headmaster who requires kids to follow the rules. She’s tough.
In 2011, a Shelton student got into hot water with the headmaster for doing one of those “promposals” kids do nowadays. He wrote his proposal in giant letters on the side of the school. The student later appeared on Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show.
In 2014, a Shelton student complained to the Valley Indy about Smith’s rampant censorship of the school newspaper. The edits, the student said, had more to do with public relations than anything that could be deemed offensive, the traditional reason given for the censorship of student media.
Ah, forget this story, LET’S DANCE!
