North Hunterdon Regional High School has been under fire lately for the handling of some kids at the prom who were apparently drinking:
Administrators were following school district policy when they pulled the students out of last Friday's dance and required them to go to a hospital for blood tests, Hughes said. School board policy does not provide for use of an on-site Breathalyzer or oral swab tests, he said.
Kids? Drinking at a prom? Unheard of! No wonder parents are upset! That would NEVER happen, right? Well, MY kid wouldn't do it, anyway...
So the parents of some of the kids raised a stink, and demanded an apology because their kids of course were completely innocent. Ya-huh. They want a public apology, preferably at the upcoming graduation:
Yay! Principal Michael Hughes!They may be waiting a while.
"I'll take the heat," Principal Michael Hughes said yesterday. "If it means everyone made it home safely? I'll take the heat."
As well they should not. Look, kids do stupid things. Some of these kids were checked out negative for alcohol, some were positive and were suspended. So, hopefully the ones who were clean learned a lesson- stay away from jerks who are doing things they aren't supposed to do or you may get caught up in their mess. But the parents who are demanding an apology and reimbursement for all prom expenses? Dream on. You aren't owed anything. Be glad your kid didn't get a ride home from one who was drinking, and sleep well knowing that tonight."I think (the incident) was way blown out of proportion," (Asst. Superintendent Frank) Helies said yesterday, adding the emotional comments directed at the school board Tuesday night were "normal parent complaining."
And while the board is still investigating the incident, the district "probably just won't have a response," Helies said.
Ahh, but here's where the professional muckrakers step in. NJ101.whine has decided to aggrivate the situation to get attention, the way they do with everything else:
So, what these kids will be shown here is a gimme-gimme attitude; when things don't exactly go your way, you should react by demanding things, disrespecting people and pushing for attention. Remember, kids learn from everything they see, not just what you teach them.Feeding the controversy, 101.5 FM radio personalities "The Jersey Guys" are staging a second prom -- all-expenses paid -- for the North Hunterdon senior class, co-host Craig Carton said.
Students proven to have consumed alcohol on the night of the original prom will not be allowed, he said.
"We obviously take underage drinking very seriously ... but we're not going to pass judgment on any of the kids there," Carton said, adding the dance will be "100 percent alcohol free," with security officers searching the students and sniffing their breath as they enter the event. "Prom 2" will take place Friday, June 23 at the Nash Dance Center in Randolph Township in Morris County.
Listeners of the afternoon show have volunteered to provide a variety of services, including a disc jockey, photographer and free beauty salon appointments, Carton said. Donations are expected to cover 90 percent of the costs, he said, but he declined to provide an estimated total bill.
Carton and co-host Ray Rossi -- who have made headlines in recent years for on-air attacks against former Gov. Richard Codey and Edison Mayor Jun Choi -- are also encouraging North Hunterdon students to protest their classmates' treatment by standing in unison at graduation and turning their backs when Hughes speaks.
8 comments:
"Carton and co-host Ray Rossi -- who have made headlines in recent years for on-air attacks against former Gov. Richard Codey and Edison Mayor Jun Choi."
Naturally, the media couldn't get this report correct. Those two buttheads ddn't "attack" Codey or Choi. The one clown made idiotic remarks about women with mental health problems and marijuana and Codey became very upset with them over it. They made racists remarks about Koreans while Choi, a Korean, was running for Mayor of Edison. That's a little different from "attacking" Codey and Choi.
They were damned rude to Choi, well, to all Asian-Americans, specifically Asian-New Jersians. Transscript is here.
Hey...they're shock jocks.
That's what they do. Kinda like the idiots on Air America, but Carton and Rossi do it with more flair...and facts.
Were the kids drinking or not?
Tests say no.
So in effect, these kids had their senior prom ruined. A little overboard to throw them another prom? Absolutely. But look at it this way....it's cheaper than a lawsuit from the parents and saves taxpayer money all around...cuz I know I ain't paying for the prom, the station is. Now a lawsuit, well, we all pay.
And as far as the "gimmie gimmie" issue goes...everything is being donated to the "prom". Not one kid asked for anything.
Not that I care, but if you listen to 101.5 at all, you know they do things like this often and they absolutely do a lot of good for a lot of people in this state and beyond.
Lou
Lou,
Tests say five of the kids were drinking, and the rest weren't.
I don't listen to nj101.5 any more. (I used to be forced to by a chef I worked under, who had to have talk radio on in the kitchen all the time.) They are shock jocks, it's true; they go out of their way to sensationalize anything they can get their hands on. They spend a lot of time playing down the truth so they can focus on whatever grabs the biggest response. They make a living out of getting people mad by keeping them misinformed, and I find that pathetic.
I heard about this story, but only because my friend teaches at that school. I also hear that she believes those kids are to blame, because she knows those kids. And now they are getting rewarded for negative behaviors while the principal might be reprimanded for what was right?
Where is the justice in this world?
Yes, the tests say whatever it is that they say. The admin says one thing and the parentS and hospital staff say another. Who knows? But given the fact that the kids were demanding to be "breathalized" on site...makes me wonder.
Drinking at a prom is decades old. North Hunterdon has a LOT more has to worry about than a few kids drinking at a prom. My DH's best friend is a cop in Hunterdon county and from what he says, well, NHHS has waaay bigger issues than prom drinking.
Perhaps your friend who teaches there could tell you that as well.
Carton is over the top and Rossi is the peeon. Kinda like Howie and Robin.
[quote]By Warren Cooper (Hunterdon COunty Democrat)
The evening of June 8 was a bad time to be seated at [b]Table 23[/quote] at the Bridgewater Marriot. Under that table during the senior prom, North Hunterdon High School officials say they found a plastic water bottle containing traces of alcohol. They kicked out the prom-goers assigned to sit at Table 23 and called parents to come pick up their children.
The students had to take blood tests before they would be allowed into school on Monday or to participate in graduation ceremonies, set for tomorrow.
Shool officials say several students tested positive, but no one will be prevented from graduating.
[b]But students and their parents say the teens tested negative.[/b] They want school officials to apologize for mishandling the incident, admit they made a mistake and reimburse all prom expenses. They also want procedures put in place to prevent it from happening again, they told the school board Tuesday night.
School officials bungled their handling of the incident, said Union Township resident Matt Severino. [b]There was no one at Table 23 when the bottle was allegedly found, he said, but Principal Michael Hughes and Assistant Principal John Hahola had that table's teens "held hostage" anyway, in another room. His daughter Tara, the senior class president, was among them. [/b]
"They had no grounds for accusing my daughter or any of them," Severino said, "no evidence, no proof. [b]We clogged up the emergency room at Hunterdon Medical Center (for blood tests) until 2 a.m. I'm under the impression they were all cleared and released. Zero alcohol." [/b]
According to a police report, three Bridgewater officers hired to provide security at the prom were told by school officials at the time that the incident was a "school matter not a police matter." Assistant Principal Irene Dolan reiterated that position Monday as she refused to release the names of the students and their parents to police, citing confidentiality, the report said.
Bridgewater Deputy Chief Robert Szkodny said that neither the original officers, nor five others called as "tempers started to flair" between school officials and students' parents, saw any evidence of intoxication at the prom. School officials on the scene did not ask the officers to take any action, he said. [b]And although the students asked for breath tests to prove they hadn't been drinking,[/b] Bridgewater police officers do not have portable breathalyzer units and were unable to do so.
Ashley Sandorse, one of the students kicked out of the prom, said after the meeting, "There was drinking (at the prom.) Everyone was aware of it, but no one (other than the accused students) was questioned." She said [b]HMC staff confirmed that none of the students at Table 23 had been drinking. "Nurses told us every child tested negative. The administration is trying to change that now." [/b]
Earlier that day, Hughes said an investigation was being conducted by Assistant Superintendent Frank Helies and he could not comment on the incident. But after the meeting, Helies said Hughes had been in charge of the investigation, which was complete. "It's over," he said. "Discipline measures have been handed out." He would not say how many students were disciplined, or for what.
Hey, if the kids WERE drinking and they got snagged, good for the admin. If the admin had it out for the kids at table 23..shame on the admin.
My point was that the OP had it wrong. The kids were not asking or begging for anything. The other posters obviously do not know that Carton and Rossi make fun of EVERYONE. What they did to Choi was par for the course...especially because the man was violating restrictions at a polling "place" ...as in too close....during the "election". You cannot make an informed comment when you are not informed. Which is what I see with a lot of left=wingers. They don't ever bother to research the other side...and they call Republicans "sheep". For the record: I don't belong to any party, I research everything and form my own opinions and vote, support, etc. accordingly. That's not what I see going on in Jersey...and that's why I found this site...I was trying to find out how the Grippo did (don't worry about it if you don't know about it...not worth wasting your time).
I LOVE debating...but I'm seriously more worried about Billary or Kerry running for POTUS. Can't wait to see the two of them tear eachother up during the mid-terms. Can't wait!
;)
Lou
This is absolutely ridiculous. I just heard about this story and am shocked that a radio station would conform to these stuck up parents that would still breat feed their children if possible. These students are so used to getting what they want at all times and their parents think that their kids could do no wrong... why would a radio station support this kind of controversy? I think the principal and administration did the right thing. Now that these kids have a second prom to worry about, it's going to cost those spoiled kids parents even more money because you know those girls will NOT wear the same dress twice.
I never thought of that... and prom dresses are expensive...
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