Ohio Christian School Threatens Student For Dancing

Here's one for the funny pages.

In Ohio, there is a 17-year old boy named Tyler Frost. Now Tyler goes to a fundamentalist baptist private school, where he is expected to graduate later this year. Tyler also has a girlfriend, who attends the local public school.

Doth wackiness ensue? It sure as hell does. You see, the school that Tyler's girlfriend is attending is about to have the senior prom. And of course Tyler's girlfriend wouldn't dream of going to the prom without her main squeeze. And of course, Tyler's no fool, and accepted the invite.

Normally not a big deal, but for whatever reason, Tyler's school is threatening to suspend Tyler if he attends the prom. And not just slap on the hand suspend either, we're talking incompletes on any unfinished work, and being forbidden to walk with his class at graduation.

So, an uber-conservative school with strict rules against dancing, hand-holding, kissing, and rock tunes, is imposing restrictions on a student for what they do with their lives outside of the school day. Everyone out there can now crank up Footloose and slap their heads in frustration.

I think there is very little that needs to be said about the stupidity factor involved in this but, I'm gonna say it anyways: this is dumb. Firstly, the restrictions about music and physical contact pertain only within the school. Basically you can't grope or shake your money maker between the hours of 7 to 4. Now, I'm almost positive that prom is held at night, which is well beyond the schooling hours listed. So, the school really has zero authority to impose any kind of restriction on what one does with their free time. Shit, if you want to play by these rules, then a kid should be suspended every time they see a beer commercial or masturbate on their off time, which last I checked, happens quite substantially to the modern adolescent.

Secondly, and this is the best part, Tyler already got a signed permission slip from the principal. Yep, Tyler played it just like a good little boy should, and went through the proper channels getting written approval for attending this prom. Principal even acknowledges this, although he claimed "there will be consequences." And it was only after this that the administration met with the local church hags and decided to throw the full force of their dumb ass might at poor Tyler. Now it seems to me, that if I remember my business law coursework, that a signed document constitutes a contract, and contracts are expected to be honored under law. And since the party in question has not violated any of the rules or regulations governing his school institution, and followed proper procedure to attend an event that is not associated with said institution, that the law is probably on Tyler's side here.

In fact, I don't even know how you can suspend a kid for what he does off school grounds. This is just bad thinking here. The principal might as well utter a racial slur in public and lewdly slap a woman on the ass. The pickle he'd be in would be about the same.

So, here's hoping that the administration of this school gets some heat from all this press and realizes that they're being a bit prickish. Proms may have a reputation for being an event that leads to sex and drinking, but Tyler is competent enough to make these choices for himself. And if he does fall from grace by dancing and smooching, well that is his doing and nobody else's. Frankly, if he didn't do it at prom, well then he's likely to do it somewhere else anyways. So, quit trying to make an example out of this poor kid just because he's trying to enjoy the experiences that every other kid his age gets to have. Let him have his moment, he has the rest of his life to be righteous and miserable.