May 18, 2005
A senior at a Frederick's Governor Thomas Johnson High School has been barred from attending her prom this Saturday because she told a newspaper she planned to drink alcohol on prom night.Shawnda Lawson, 18, told The Frederick News-Post earlier this month that she had refused to sign a pledge that she wouldn't drink -- and she told the paper she likes drinking.
After the story was published, Lawson said she was told by her principal she was banned from the prom and told she was an embarrassment to the school.
County schools spokeswoman Marita Loose said school dances are a privilege, not a right.
Another student, Nicole Taylor, also told the newspaper she planned to drink on prom night. There is no word if she also faces punishment.
We lost a girl from my school several years ago when a drunk hit her boyfriend’s car on the way to his prom. We had several students injured – including one with a broken neck that could have left her paralyzed – in a wreck on the Galveston Causeway the year before that, but alcohol was not a factor. In reality, we have managed to dodge the tragedy of a car full of kids dying in a fiery wreck after getting liquored up. But when it is our turn to face such a prom tragedy, it will be the school (not the parents) that everyone expects to put a stop to the drinking – despite the fact that kids are searched by constables going in to prom and cannot leave the cordoned-off area of the hotel during the dance.
Therefore, I think this is a good, proportionate response to the statement made by Ms. Lawson to the newspaper. She may go out and get loaded, but no one will be able to complain that the school “should have done something”.
Posted by: Greg at
12:21 PM
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Post contains 366 words, total size 2 kb.
Posted by: JohnG at Wed May 18 15:26:06 2005 (ywZa8)
Posted by: mcconnell at Wed May 18 17:31:31 2005 (AbJW2)
Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Wed May 18 22:47:32 2005 (wF55+)
It's the school's right to say whether a person can go or not to the prom which is a priviledge, however.
Would it have been any different if she didn't say she was going to drink on prom night? And let the newspaper know that she refused to sign the pledge instead? Not signing the pledge on not to drink on prom night is almost the same as announcing you're planning to drink on prom night.
At least she was honest about this, although mightly stupid about drinking alcohol on any occasions. No need to drink alcohol. None.
Posted by: mcconnell at Thu May 19 03:04:42 2005 (d7On1)
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