For some teens, prom is a platform for good deeds and social change
NEW YORK — Prom traditionally has been a night of glamour and romance, complete with backstage drama over dates and dresses. But prom culture is changing. Some teens now see prom as an opportunity to be inclusive rather than exclusive. They’re using prom as a vehicle for good deeds and to take a stand on issues that matter to them.
Teens are inviting classmates with autism to be their dates. One student group organized a prom for senior citizens. In Louisiana, a gay female student fought for the right to wear a tux. And a museum displays a dress worn by a student who spearheaded a racially integrated prom.
“Change can look like a prom dress,” said Matthew McRae, spokesman for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. “We thought it was a great example of someone making a change at the community level.”
Prom can be “a platform for social change,” said April Masini, who writes the AskApril.com advice column. While some teens see prom as a night of playing grown-up by dressing in fancy clothes, for others, “their idea of being an adult is standing up for what they believe in.”
Here are some stories about teenagers who used prom to reach out to others or express their right to be different.
PROM FOR YOUNG AND OLD
When Rahul Peravali was a student at Houston High School in Germantown, he participated in a prom that brought students and senior citizens together. When he got to Rhodes College, he proposed it as a project for the college class council. On April 7, dozens of kids showed up to dance with folks their grandparents’ age.
For the seniors, it was special because “so many of them did not get to go to their own proms,” said Kay Lightfoot, director of the Lewis Center for Seniors. But the “students had a great time, too,” said Peravali.
The seniors taught the young-
sters some steps for big-band numbers, and students led the line dance for the 2007 R&B hit “Cupid Shuffle.”
INVITING A CLASSMATE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
Kaitlin McCarthy, 17, is a high school junior in Canton, Massachusetts. Her schoolmate, Matty Marcone, has special needs and a range of medical issues. “He’s the sweetest kid,” Kaitlin said. “I see Matty for who he is. I say, ‘Oh, that’s my buddy Matty,’ not ‘Poor Matty, he’s dealing with this or that right now.’”
Matty told Kaitlin he wanted to buy Walt Disney World for her. “I said, if he’s going to buy Disney World for me, I should bring him to the prom,” said Kaitlin.
The whole school — including Kaitlin’s boyfriend — joined the effort. Matty learned to dance. Special ed teachers and the school nurse chaperoned to help manage Matty’s diabetes. The hockey team, which previously had chosen Matty as team CEO, made sure he had friends to hang out with in addition to Kaitlin.
Matty and Kaitlin ended up being crowned prom king and queen.
“A lot of the kids know his situation, that he’s very sick. But they also respect him as a peer. This wasn’t done out of pity,” said Matty’s mom, Susan Marcone. “There was magic in the room that night.”
BEING YOURSELF AT PROM
Claudetteia Love, 17, was barred from wearing a tux to the April 24 Carroll High School prom in Monroe, Louisiana. After word of her quest got out, the dress code was changed with the support of the school board president.
“I am thankful that my school is allowing me to be who I am,” she said.
“Proms are a very traditional part of the high school experience,” said Asaf Orr, staff attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which supported her case. “Participating in those events as your whole self, that’s really what it’s about. These kids are saying, ‘I want to go to this event; I’m not going to hide part of who I am.’”
PROM DRESS IN A MUSEUM
Last fall, Mareshia Rucker’s sparkly red prom dress went on display at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. She wore the dress in 2013 to a racially integrated prom organized by her and other teenagers from Wilcox County High School in Rochelle, Georgia. Until then, segregated proms had been arranged by families in the community.
“Human rights isn’t just something addressed by world leaders or famous people,” said McRae, who helped curate the exhibit. “It’s something we can all make a difference in.”