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Promgoer drinking spurs some schools to take the wheel
LEXINGTON -- Forget the image of students in tuxedos and gowns climbing into a stretch limo or
School administrators are mandating the less-than-glamorous transportation to curb student drinking and drug use, outraging many students who recently began circulating an e-mailed petition among students and parents to show the opposition to the idea.
"Who takes a bus to the prom, honestly?" said Allie McDonald, 16, a junior. "You're supposed to have a limo."
Lexington's attempt to take away students' wheels on prom night mirrors what only a few schools are trying, officials of state and national organizations say. But it is part of a broad movement by schools in recent years to prevent drinking at pre-prom parties. Other efforts include conducting sobriety tests at prom entrances and signing contracts that pledge good behavior.
In many cases, the restrictions have exposed a generational divide: Students say the efforts strangle their independence and diminish what should be one of their most memorable high school experiences. Adults maintain that the moves can save lives.
"Nothing ruins high school prom memories like a tragedy," said Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.
At Lexington High School, officials began exploring the idea of busing students to the prom after a handful of students smuggled flasks of liquor into last year's senior prom. The school initially pitched the bus idea as voluntary, but parents and police pushed for mandating it after former Lexington High student Andrew Stone died in a car accident in January.
Stone, 18, was a passenger in a car driven by his 17-year-old brother when it struck a tree. The youths had attended a house party earlier that night. State Police said alcohol may have been a factor .
"We as a community, Lexington, need to do more to address drugs and alcohol abuse, and the dangers it presents to students," said Michael Jones , the school principal and the former principal at Cohasset Middle-High School, which requires students to ride trolleys to the proms. "We have an ongoing problem with students drinking before or during dances. It's a game students play with us."
All students will be required to take the district-provided transportation to the junior prom in May at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge and to the senior prom in June at a Copley Square hotel. Students attending the prom will pay a transportation fee, which could add $11 or more to a ticket price, based on other schools' charges.
Jones said he believes students will be less apt to drink before the prom. They will have to walk down a reception line to the buses, and administrators can identify symptoms of drinking.
Students who drive themselves or rent limos for prom night often drink alcohol on the way. They also sneak in flasks or nips for consumption during the event, something buses alone cannot deter, school officials said.
Many students are also are upset that school administrators did not consult the student body or the Student Faculty Senate before making the change. Jones said he solicited support from community leaders and other school groups.
Students acknowledge that their petition is unlikely to change the administrators' minds. The petition says students believe busing is "an unwise and ineffective solution," because by not having limos pick up students at their doorsteps, some students who attend pre-prom parties will drive to school to catch the bus.
"We are being treated like kids. It's losing that magic that makes a prom special," said Peter Krensky, a student senate official.
But a few students said they supported the new policy, believing monitoring by chaperones on the bus will curb drinking. "It kind of ruins the feel of the prom -- not renting a limo -- but at the same time it's probably necessary because of last year's prom and Andrew Stone," said Nico Christiansen, a 17-year-old senior.
Michael Bogdanow , a lawyer and father of a Lexington senior, said the change is unlikely to stop teen drinking on prom night.
But Jones said that any policy that prevents some students from drinking is successful. "Can we guarantee we'll stop students from drinking? Of course not," Jones said. "Students have to take responsibility, and parents have to take responsibility. There's only so much a school can do."
Area schools such as Cohasset, Marblehead, and Silver Lake that mandate busing say the policy helps keep students sober before and during the prom. To prevent pre-prom drinking, parents throw alcohol-free parties on town commons or school grounds . "The whole thing is like a Cinderella story," said Patrice Clough, senior class adviser at Marblehead High School . "The students go into the golden coaches, and they are safe. If they want to turn into pumpkins when they get back, it's up to them."
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
