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Community Corner

Lesson for High Schoolers in Prom Ban Reversal

Students see results by speaking up for what they believe in

By now everyone has heard of James Tate, the Shelton teenager who was barred from attending prom after he received an in-school suspension for asking a friend to attend the dance with him by taping a sign outside of the school. The story went viral just hours after hitting local news outlets and spread not only to the rest of the country, but around the world as well. 

In case you did miss the story, here’s the basics: Early last Friday, Tate and two of his friends went to Shelton High School to post his message, made of cardboard letters, to an outside wall of the school. As a result of this Tate and his two friends each received one day of in-school suspension and were barred from prom because of a policy that prevented any student suspended after April 1st from attending. 

After word got around about Tate and his friends being banned from the June 4th prom, a Facebook group was created urging Shelton High Headmaster Dr. Beth Smith to reverse her decision. As the story spread around the country and around the world, the Facebook page grew to over 195,000 members. Tate even appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and the Today Show to discuss the matter. 

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Early Saturday afternoon, Shelton school administrators called a press conference and announced that after some consideration they had decided to allow James Tate and his two friends to attend the prom. 

High school students are constantly told they have the power to make a difference in their community and the world but rarely have a chance to see evidence of this. Some may think the media storm surrounding the story got out of hand but without all of the attention Tate and his friends probably would not have had their prom privileges reinstated.

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If no one had spoken out against what they felt was an unfair punishment the situation would not have garnered as much, if any, attention. While getting Tate’s prom privileges reinstated may not be very significant in the grand scheme of things, it can serve as an important lesson for Shelton High School students. 

By speaking out against something they felt was unjust, the students were able to initiate change in their school and get Tate’s ban reversed. As Shelton High School seniors go forth into the world, be it to college, work or where life takes them, they should be able to look back on this incident and realize they do have the power to make a difference if they stand up and fight for what they believe in. 

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