Prom promotes racial and religious tolerance
‘No Place For Hate’ at Delray school
Everyone is welcome on April 24 to a high school prom in Delray Beach — except for bullies.
Students at Space of Mind Schoolhouse, deeply moved by an Anti-Defamation League-sponsored curriculum they studied this year, have organized their first prom and are molding the party’s theme around the lessons they learned.
The “No Place For Hate” curriculum encourages racial and religious tolerance and shows students how to confront bias and prejudice they encounter among their peers. Participants sign a “Resolution of Respect,” with statements such as “I believe that one person can make a differ- Gavin Krooks, 17, a junior from Parkland ence. No person can be an ‘innocent bystander’ when it comes to opposing hate.”
Participating schools must conduct three anti-bias activities. A few months ago, Space of Mind students began brainstorming a bully-free prom as their third program.
“We’ve never had a prom before,” said student Gavin Krooks, 17, a junior from Parkland. “It will be close to what a regular prom would look like, just a safer space.”
Proms across the country have had trouble accommodating diversity.
A lesbian student in Louisiana decided to skip her prom this month after her school told her she could not wear a tuxedo. An Alabama school district was forced to rescind a written set of prom rules last year that stated only traditional couples were welcome at the party.
Space of Mind is a small, private school in downtown Delray Beach that focuses on students who think they weren’t getting sufficient attention in larger schools. Students can work independently or in small groups. This year there are 25 students, ages 8 to 18.
Many students found Space of Mind after feeling lost or tormented at bigger schools.
“I’ve been bullied and it’s terrible,” Krooks said. “I was a small kid. Kids felt the need to pick on me, at school;
“We’ve never had a prom before. It will be close to what a regular prom would look like, just a safer space.”