Photo: afivestarlimo.com
So much for taking your date and maybe some close friends for a limo ride on prom night. A New Jersey high school has banned limos, luxury cars and party buses for the big night, which is scheduled to take place on June 4.
Lakeland Regional High School superintendent Hugh Beattie explains to CBS New York in a recent interview that the ban is a move to ensure “safety and equity” among students, but there could also be a link to the New York limo crash that killed 20 people in October last year. In that particular case, the vehicle that transported the kids was not road-safe and had failed several inspections, but was still being used.
With “safety and equity” in mind, Beattie is proposing a cheaper means of transportation for all students on prom night: a school-provided chaperoned bus, for a fee of just $15 per student. This way, the 45-minute ride to and from campus would take place in an organized and entirely safe manner.
The bonus would be that this new rule would also curb underage drinking on this particular night because, obviously, the kids would be under supervision. A bus ride to and from prom would also mean many of them would no longer be able to hit the NYC or Jersey afterparties, where more underage drinking could happen.
“This way we have a little more control over what’s going on,” Beattie says. “It’s 45 minutes away from campus, so we’ll make sure students get there and back safely.”
As you can imagine, the students are none too happy about the new rule. As it turns out, neither are their parents. Some of them believe the teenagers should decide for themselves how they wish to get to and from prom, and that taking a limo is part of “prom tradition.”
On March 12, the school will hold its scheduled board meeting, and both students and parents plan to show up to protest against the proposed, mandatory, chaperoned bus ride on prom night.
With “safety and equity” in mind, Beattie is proposing a cheaper means of transportation for all students on prom night: a school-provided chaperoned bus, for a fee of just $15 per student. This way, the 45-minute ride to and from campus would take place in an organized and entirely safe manner.
The bonus would be that this new rule would also curb underage drinking on this particular night because, obviously, the kids would be under supervision. A bus ride to and from prom would also mean many of them would no longer be able to hit the NYC or Jersey afterparties, where more underage drinking could happen.
“This way we have a little more control over what’s going on,” Beattie says. “It’s 45 minutes away from campus, so we’ll make sure students get there and back safely.”
As you can imagine, the students are none too happy about the new rule. As it turns out, neither are their parents. Some of them believe the teenagers should decide for themselves how they wish to get to and from prom, and that taking a limo is part of “prom tradition.”
On March 12, the school will hold its scheduled board meeting, and both students and parents plan to show up to protest against the proposed, mandatory, chaperoned bus ride on prom night.
Google News