Parents voice opinions over students turned away at High School dance

Updated: 10/02/2012 10:39 am | Published: 10/01/2012 10:33 pm

TOOELE, Utah (ABC 4 News) – Staff at Stansbury High School banned dozens of students from entering the Homecoming Dance over the weekend. Now parents are sharing their frustration.

Shelly Wolf and her daughter Kailey are still upset Monday over what’s being called a “Homecoming Spirit Massacre”.

“I felt frustrated,” said Kailey Wolf, Junior, Stansbury High School.

“I was appalled at the way it was handled,” said Shelly Wolf, upset parent.

Saturday, Kailey was one of dozens of students turned away from the Stansbury Homecoming dance, all because her dress was too short.

“We added length to the bottom, we even added the straps as well,” said Wolf.

The pair spent weeks picking out the perfect dress and accessories. So did other parents whose children were also turned away.

“I spent time altering the straps so it would have the right kind of straps for the dress,” said Tiffany Ekins, upset parent.

“The parents have spent so much money and time and effort for these young kids to have a safe environment and dance and they got turned away,” said Susan Johnson, upset grandparent.

They said the school was wrong to ban their daughters from the dance, and claim the dress code is too vague.

“It indicates the length should be at or near the knee and you know, what is near the knee? We’ve got to clarify that, we’ve got to make that better,” said Kendall Topham, Stansbury High School Principal.

Looking again at the dress the Wolf’s think is fine, they tell ABC 4, changing the code is the first place the school should start.

“I believe that rule needs to be clear,” said Wolf.

ABC 4 is told the school will be giving banned students a make-up dance to compensate for the way they were treated.

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Follow Brian Carlson on Twitter: @tv_briancarlson

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angela73 - 10/2/2012 5:02 PM

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While the school may have made an error in judgement, I believe there is something more serious that needs to be adressed. The situation that occurred has been referred to as the "Homecoming Spirit Massacre". I believe the parents who lost their sons and daughters in the Columbine shooting and other shootings would strongly disagree with this description. What happen with the dance was unfortunate, but lets gain a little perspective here shall we.

gonegonzo - 10/2/2012 4:07 PM

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I don’t know what is more ironic; here you have two excited, hormonal teenagers, looking for a good time, but instead of allowing them to stay in an adult supervised building. You would rather cut them loose to their own devices; just let them find some unsupervised spot to ‘boink’, while their parents think they are safe at the school dance. That is real Utah adult thinking right there. Yup, that’ll teach em.

suzannege - 10/2/2012 11:01 AM

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First of all, these are young girls, NOT old women! They should NOT be required to wear some frumpy prairie dress to a school dance. It's time to remove the LDS standards of dress from our schools. Let the parents worry about their children's attire, it's not for teachers or the school to decide. Secondly, to now offer a "make up dance" for those that were turned away is too little too late. These students missed the Homecoming Dance! Another dance is not the same.

DickGreyson - 10/2/2012 9:40 AM

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This person self appointed knee knock police, needs to go home with out pay for a while like "forever". Bully's come in all shapes and sizes and grown adults who think they are the the law need to step back and get over themselves.

AngelK - 10/2/2012 1:05 AM

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Where are my comments I submitted them already. 45 Years ago my Mutual Teacher wore dresses above her knee there was an article in the ERA titled the Decompartmentized Latter Day Saint we discussed that many years ago her name was Beverly Olson and she wore her dresses above the knee that many years ago the article about the length of skirts needless to say I will never forget her or the article. This is the 21st Century, The Teacher Police should be disciplined knowing that the costs let alone the disappointment will last lifetimes. The teacher police everyone involved should be forced to lose their job or plan another dance at their expense where they can wear their attire and have a good time everyone would be included to participate. I'm extremely disappointed at teacher police (and I support the police 100 per cent in everything they do). What a shame they could have shown up in Ganster attire showing their butts (the fellas) with hankies in their back pockets and chains for their keys -- wasn't exactly that was it. Linden Dare of Roy UT I was young once too

Dennis - 10/1/2012 11:21 PM

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" the school will be giving banned students a make-up dance to compensate for the way they were treated." Really? Yep, urine Utah for sure. I guess that's why student Trenton Griffin said in the earlier article, he was "pissed off" about he and his date being banned from the first one. But even so, it is better to be pissed off than pissed on, I suppose, although the kids could probably relate to both.

Cedargirl - 10/1/2012 11:18 PM

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After spending 32 years in education, it never ceases to amaze me that there are adults who, when needing to feel empowered, make thoughtless decisions. This specific situation was wrong on so many levels. Whomever the individuals were that turned these "selected" girls away implied that they looked "inappropriate." They did not! As a parent, I maintain what is appropriate (within reason and the parameters of the handbook). Would the chaperones prefer they arrive in prairie dresses with bloomers? If so, there is a certain location in Utah where that is the standard attire, and we all know how things for young girls work there...The dresses shown were NOT figure forming, sheer, or with slits up the thigh. They were sweet. The fact that some girls with shorter dresses WERE permitted to stay, is another issue. You simply cannot pick and choose where you apply the rule. Common sense did NOT prevail. "Pinhead thinking" pretty much was the order of the day. I think, even more importantly than having a make up dance, the individual that initiated the screening needs to attend some sort of sensitivity training so that he/she learns how not to diminish someone's self esteem, how to handle social situations with decorum (especially if their own religious beliefs may cloud their rational thinking), how to separate his/her personal religious beliefs from common sense (spirit vs. letter of the law), and how to determine what is truly important. Wasn't the dance experience truly important? Were the girls behaving like young ladies? I'm sure they were. As far as the administrator is concerned - Mr. Topham is going to ride the fence on this one both with his staff and his parents.

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