Parents Talk: He Invited Who To Prom?

A high school senior at Tartan High School created a national buzz last week when news broke that he had invited an adult film actress to his school's upcoming prom.

The student, Mike Stone,  to go to prom with him May 12.  ,  declaring that Stone won't be allowed to bring the woman to the dance.

Tartan's statement said:

"It has been reported in the national news that a Tartan student has invited a porn star to attend prom and she has accepted his invitation, subject to his paying for her airfare to Minnesota.  However, this prom date will not be allowed to attend the Tartan prom as her attendance would be prohibited under Tartan’s standard prom procedures and would be inconsistent with two school district policies, E-077 (Visitors to School District Buildings and Sites) and E-084 (School Sponsored Student Publications and Activities)."

It's not surprising how Tartan has handled this situation. I talked with school administrators at Roseville Area High School, and they supported Tartan.

"We would be consistent with Tartan's decision," said Mike Flatten, Roseville High School's assistant activities director and prom advisor. "We want to make all participants feel safe and have a secure atmosphere (at prom)."

Flatten noted that Roseville students can invite a guest to the prom, but they must be less than 21-years-old and students need to fill out a guest admission form.

"There is no admission without prior approval," Flatten said. The school, he said, can deny a guest for safety and convenience of other prom attenders.

At Roseville High, prom is a big deal. Last year, the annual event drew 629 students and their dates, Flatten said.

Given the importance of prom and the large number of students who attend, I  understand why the schools want and need to keep proper control of the event.

As I look back on my high school days, I don't believe anyone would have ever thought about making such an outlandish, dare I say, embarrassing prom invitation.

As for the Tartan student, Stone, I can only wonder: What was he thinking?