Letters to the Editor
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That girl looked like a prostitute.
I saw a video of this girl showing off her dress. She looked like a street walker. This outfit was completely inappropriate for a school prom, and the people defending this girl's right to wear that sort of thing at a school prom are -- to use a techincal term -- nuts.
Regarding alleged racism: that's nuts, too. The principles involved in having this girl arrested were also black. In fact, anyone crying "Racism!" in this case is guilty of racism themselves, in that they are unwilling to apply the same standards of decent behavior to black people that they would to white people.
I'm as liberal as they come, but this girl's defenders are politically correct to an obnoxious fault.
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A Free Society?
There is no room for self expression, non-conformity, or individualism in this quaint institution we call a school.
Naturally this young lady was doing nothing but conforming to the greatest teacher of this generation: MTV/BET.
But the so-called authorities weren't thinking about that. (They weren't thinking at all).
They were bothered that she didn't conform to their antique and puritan dress code.
I really blame the parents. NOT her parents. But the parents that run the companies that make money by sexualizing young women and thug-ify young men.
These kids are really only following what the adult society says is valuable.
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OMG Somebody actually made SENSE on this thread!!!
Lestat1 - THANK YOU! My feelings exactly. Proms are supposed to be about "sweet girl graduates" - GIRLS - young ladies - not "women," not (whatever). After all, I presume that the BOYS had to dress like "gentlemen" - they probably even prided themselves on being able to wear a rented grown-up-style tuxedo for perhaps the first time in their lives.
I attended high-school in the - gasp - SIXTIES. And we all know what teen fashions were like back then, right? But come prom time, most of us girls doffed the minis and mod stuff in favor of tasteful, elegant gowns and hairdos...and when we look at our old yearbooks, we can giggle at the ridiculous way we dressed for class, and sigh over how great we looked on the Big Night.
Ladies of the Class of 2008...let this be a lesson to you.
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Consequences
Face it, this badly-behaved, inarticulate, trashy girl is just thrilled with herself today. In her wildest dreams, she would have been the talk of the dance floor. And this is so much better!! She was ON TV!! She's FAMOUS!!!!!!! The text messages are flying, the cell phones are humming, and it just doesn't get any better than this. What next?
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An appearance on Letterman
I answer my own question.
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Get over yourselves, people
All the self righteous outrage on this thread is killing me. She was a "whore." She was a "slut." She was a "streetwalker." She was "ugly." She was "tasteless." She "had no class." She "had no self esteem."
The way I see it, she was an adult, who chose to excercise her freedom as an adult to wear a revealing outfit. That's it. End of story.
As for all of you who are up in arms over the fact that she argued with the authorities at the dance, and didn't gracefully accept her own exile, I ask you: wouldn't you? We can reasonably presume that she spent a lot of money on her tickets, and probably on the dress as well. We can also reasonably assume that the prom was a big event for her, as it is for most high school students, and she was probably looking forward to it. We can also reasonably presume that being unexpectedly turned away at the door was quite embarassing.
I ask again: wouldn't you argue? Wouldn't you try, perhaps vigorously, to make your case? Or would you quietly accept your rejection?
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(Mother) Earth to Aaron...
She is NOT an adult, that's the whole point! She's a HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT - a minor, subject to her parents and the in-loco-parentis authority of the school. Read the story again...
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Gayle, I'll bet you a dollar...
...that she IS an adult.
The story Salon links to doesn't actually specify her age, but it does refer to her as a Madison High School senior. At this point in their senior year, most high school students are, in fact, adults.
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Well Aaron
If you went to the news link and watched the video, you would have also seen that guidelines for entry to the prom were given to each ticket holder. Those guidelines stated that only one inch of bare midsection could be shown. Barebacks were acceptable. Skirts could be no shorter than three inches above the knee. She failed on two counts. Too much midsection and too much leg.
She was not unexpectedly turned away, she didn't follow directions. When you are knowingly breaking rules, you don't argue and pitch a fit because you've been called on it.
Also, regarding legal age, even if she was 18 that does not change the rules for attendance. She can wear that dress to any nightclub that allows people 18 and up. She can wear that dress to any party she herself throws.
Also, about your magical 18 age, I used to smoke. I got caught on school grounds smoking at 18, i was legally old enough to purchase cigarettes. That does not change the fact that smoking at school was against the rules. When I was busted, I did not argue with the principal. I repented, said how sorry I was and some other crap I can't recall. All I was trying to do was avoid my mom finding out, my punishment was not being able to attend the school dance that weekend, that I had purchased tickets for and no, I did not get a refund. It wasn't prom, but it still was a dance that nearly all my friends were going to. Hell, my principal even congratulated me on how adult I was being at accepting my punishement so that's how I got out of the requisite phone call to the parents.
I don't know the level of her arguing, perhaps calling the cops was overkill and we'll never know if she had gone home to change into another dress then come back if she would have been let in.
The only thing I agree with you on is that she shouldn't be called names like whore, slut and streetwalker. The dress was innapropiate for prom and it's her parents fault for paying for a custom made dress that they should have known wouldn't get her into the event, but I'm not outraged over the outfit itself, then again I'm not a mom and my best girlfriend had a fishnet dress she loved to wear over a bikini to raves. So the amount of skin isn't shocking to me, but she certainly didn't try to wear that dress to her prom.