This from The Press (photo, Kim & Reggie demonstrate):
The 2010 Lake High School Homecoming Dance came to a grinding halt last Saturday night – or rather, it came to a “no-grinding halt.”By around 9 p.m., well before the dance was scheduled to end, a number of students had left in protest of a recently instituted “no-grinding” policy that prohibited the popular form of dancing that school officials feel is sexually provocative and a little too “up-close-and-personal” for a school setting.
Sophomore Dakota Jakey said he feels it wasn’t just the policy, but the timing of the announcement that grinding would be prohibited at the dance added to the students’ frustration.
“When we heard the announcement Friday morning, we were mad,” he said. “People had already bought their tickets to the dance. This type of dancing had been allowed in previous years, so why not announce the policy earlier so we could decide whether or not we even wanted to go?”
Though Jakey admitted it may be “awkward” to describe grinding, he said many students enjoy the dance style. “The principal said they were issuing a no-grinding policy because they didn’t want students’ genitals rubbing against one another,” he said. “That made some kids laugh, but many of us were upset that our choice of how to dance was taken away.” ...
[Lee Herman, Lake principal, said students] did a good job for 1.5 hours and then we had a problem...The DJ was told that this was a school dance and that he should play appropriate music. The kids were asking why they could not hear certain songs,” the principal said. “The DJ, knowing the message in some of the songs, would not play them. The song choice was not my decision." ...“I don’t have an issue with songs as long as there is appropriate language. A song that has the ‘f’ word being used in it 15 times is not appropriate.”
Students, in protest of the music that was being played, held a “sit-in” of sorts, sitting on the gym floor for several minutes. “When the DJ started playing all country music, stuff like ‘Cotton-eyed Joe’ and older songs, everyone sat down because they didn’t want to dance to any of the songs,” said senior Alexa McNamee...
“It’s not only our school that does this – everyone does,” she said. “So for us to say we can’t do it, it’s like saying we can’t dance. What are you going to go to homecoming and do? Stand there?”
“Some of my friends were talking about leaving and going back to a friend’s house to have our own homecoming,” McNamee said, adding that she and her date chose to rent some movies and spend the rest of the evening at home....
“A “big issue” at Clay
Jeff Thompson, principal at Clay High School in Oregon, said the school had the same issues with some students dancing inappropriately.HT 2 KSBA
“This was a big issue for us last year,” Thompson said. “I called other schools in other states and schools in Ohio asking what they did to put policies in place for dances. We want our kids to take a respectful stance on how they conduct themselves at a dance as well as in our hallways, in their lives and in how they dress.”
Thompson said he fielded questions from parents last year concerning the school’s stance on dancing and even the dress code for the dances. “I don’t think many parents totally understood what grinding meant,” Thompson said. “I told parents that when you see your daughter bending over and guys, not one but two to three behind them grinding up against her, you will change your mind on grinding.
Over the summer, Clay wrote formal dance guidelines that are included in the student Handbook as well as online at the high school’s website. The guidelines include specific policies for dress as well as what will be considered inappropriate dancing, which includes “moshing,” “body-surfing,” “slam-dancing,” and any style of dancing that suggests sexual innuendo.
“Sexually-suggestive dancing will result in the student's removal from the event, and may hinder or prevent his or her participation in future school dances and events,” the policy says.
Clay has also written Formal Dance Guidelines, complete with photos of what types of clothing will be considered appropriate and inappropriate dress...
