Oddly, Keven Bacon has nothing to do with this.
From the Dayton Daily News:
Ohio Christian school tells student to skip prom
The Associated Press
Updated 12:11 PM
Friday, May 8, 2009FINDLAY, Ohio — A student at a fundamentalist Baptist school that forbids dancing, rock music, hand-holding and kissing will be suspended if he takes his girlfriend to her public high school prom, his principal said.
Despite the warning, 17-year-old Tyler Frost, who has never been to a dance before, said he plans to attend Findlay High School’s prom Saturday.
Frost, a senior at Heritage Christian School in northwest Ohio, agreed to the school’s rules when he signed a statement of cooperation at the beginning of the year, principal Tim England said.
The teen, who is scheduled to receive his diploma May 24, would be suspended from classes and receive an “incomplete” on remaining assignments, England said. Frost also would not be permitted to attend graduation but would get a diploma once he completes final exams. If Frost is involved with alcohol or sex at the prom, he will be expelled, England said.
Frost’s stepfather Stephan Johnson said the school’s rules should not apply outside the classroom.
“He deserves to wear that cap and gown,” Johnson said.
Frost said he thought he had handled the situation properly. Findlay requires students from other schools attending the prom to get a signature from their principal, which Frost did.
“I expected a short lecture about making the right decisions and not doing something stupid,” Frost said. “I thought I would get his signature and that would be the end.”
England acknowledged signing the form but warned Frost there would be consequences if he attended the dance. England then took the issue to a school committee made up of church members, who decided to threaten Frost with suspension.
“In life, we constantly make decisions whether we are going to please self or please God. (Frost) chose one path, and the school committee chose the other,” England said.
The handbook for the 84-student Christian school says rock music “is part of the counterculture which seeks to implant seeds of rebellion in young people’s hearts and minds.”
England said Frost’s family should not be surprised by the school’s position.
“For the parents to claim any injustice regarding this issue is at best forgetful and at worst disingenuous,” he said. “It is our hope that the student and his parents will abide by the policies they have already agreed to.”
The principal at Findlay High School, whose graduates include Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, said he respects, but does not agree with, Heritage Christian School’s view of prom.
“I don’t see (dancing and rock music) as immoral acts,” Craig Kupferberg said.
___
Information from: The Courier, http://www.thecourier.com
“In life, we constantly make decisions whether we are going to please self or please God.”
It must be nice to have no doubts that you actually are on a mission from God.
Filed under: Interesting Oddities, News, Religion
Well, I hardly think that the statement about pleasing self or God should be viewed by the Baptist school as mandatory thinking for people outside of their fold, even if Mr. England thinks it should. Clearly there is a difference of opinion between Mr. Frost and Mr. England. However, Frost is in that Baptist school and has apparently agreed to play by their rules. If he wants to attend another school, then he can dance to his heart’s content. Sometimes going against the grain is worth it and sometimes it is not. Convictions vs time invested in education credits, that is the question here. So, if he attends the prom and is suspended he will have made his own choice and will hopefully accept the consequences like a man, if he expects to become one. I feel sorry for him, but, ……. “When in Rome …….”.
Jerks.
I really didn’t need another reason to hate these people, but now I have one, anyway.
Fight intolerance with intolerance.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people think they have a direct line to God; to know what will please Him and what will not. The arrogance of this stance is stunning.
That said, there are situations that require a little wisdom, as teenage pregnancies are on the increase, here in the UK. There is a need to keep watch on those just getting their full-on hormone dose for the first time. But then, who watches the watchers?
I’m afraid I have an enormous problem with organised religion. My own view is: my relationship with God is mine, and no one else’s. I will take responsibility for my own actions, and when the time comes, be judged by Him for them.
May your God(s) be with you, (but in private.)
ptathuk
I agree with ptathuk; organized religion is one of the last holdovers from a dangerous, superstitious time in history. Almost every other belief from say, the 12th century has been replaced – our views on science, medicine, the universe, social organization (such as how to treat women, children, the physically or mentally disabled, etc.), has been changed. But religion is still stuck in the past.
Is there any real difference between this Baptist school and some hard-line religious schools of other faiths in other parts of the world? Fundamentalism is a threat, no matter which god your thought police think they are speaking for. How sad we have to put up with this sort of nonsense in the 21st century.
Why should the student be punished for his parents’ bad judgement in sending him to a religious school?
(Tongue slightly in cheek)
This reminds me of the impetus behind a post I wrote called “Love sex or fear god; that is the question.”
What I find odd is the student is taking his girlfriend to her school prom. So why does “his” school’s rule apply? Do they have cameras at his house to make sure he isn’t listening to rock music? Seems to me they are punishing him for being forthcoming in telling them he is planning to go. He could have kept the information to himself and it appears he would have been fine. Then again I guess when you are dealing with fundamentalist there isn’t any logic or reason.
[...] It’s prom season, which means there’s tons of stories about puritanical schools forbidding somebody or other from going to the prom, as though one silly dance is going to unravel twelve years of rigid teachings. This one’s from Ohio, where a boy by his Baptist school that he couldn’t go to his girlfriend’s public school prom. As usual, I’m sort of fascinated by this, while at the same time not really understanding why it’s newsworthy. [via The Edge of Vanilla] [...]
I attended my prom.
Now I am pleased to finally know where all this terrible perversion that lives within me came from!