IL school board tells student: No Kilt at Prom.

[turpin]

[QUOTE=MacMillan of Rathdown;1081310]
Having recently hosted a member of the royal family at the Greenville Scottish Games I think I am on firm ground when I suggest that the Royals do not wear kilts outside of Scotland, even when attending Highland games, much less if invited to a senior prom.
QUOTE]

HRH was probably traveling with carry-on luggage only to avoid those extravagant checked baggage fees. I am sure that if his travel budget had allowed he'd have been in full feather.

[Mark Stephenson]

Since publicly funded schools have all sort of "arbitrary rules" -- such as the right to expel students, deprive them of the right to take part in intramural sports, and detain them after school-- I would think that by extension publicly funded schools have established the right to set reasonable rules considering attire for specific events; ie: students who wish to be members of the school basketball team will wear the school basketball team uniform, etc. I do not see where requiring all students to adhere to the same set of rules is an abridgement of any fundamental civil right, any more than requiring all persons seeking to obtain a driving license to have a full face photo is an abridgement of a fundamental civil right.

Those who wish to wear golf shoes when playing basketball, or burka's when driving a car may disagree (which is their fundamental civil right). Likewise, some students may disagree with the senior prom dress code. But if they want to attend the prom, they need to comply with the rules, just like everyone else.

MOR -
Regarding the “disciplinary” examples cited: These can be applied wisely and appropriately, or abusively and inappropriately. Because a school has the ability to be abusive in one circumstance is not justification to do the same in another circumstance. Also, please consider the fact that the school is not exactly acting as a host. The students are paying to attend. So, in one respect, the students are consumers. As for wearing golf shoes on a basketball court… well… that’s hardly the same as asking to wear a PC and kilt to a black tie dinner, now is it? I always enjoy your opinions and most always I find I agree with you. On this one, we’ll just have to agree to disagree.
All the best.

p.s. I would be remiss if I did not admit to being rather biased in this case. I grew up in the next school district over from the one in question. This particular school district did not then, and apparently does not now seem to be very “enlightened”.

[MacGumerait]

I would think that trews and a dinner jacket-- something regularly seen in Scotland-- would probably attract no undue comment. Adding a fly plaid, something that one hardly ever sees worn with a kilt in Scotland, and never with trews, would tend to make the outfit look comical, rather than formal.

Having recently hosted a member of the royal family at the Greenville Scottish Games I think I am on firm ground when I suggest that the Royals do not wear kilts outside of Scotland, even when attending Highland games, much less if invited to a senior prom.

I don't see the school as having a problem with ethnic issues, rather I see them having to cope with a diverse group of young people who may, or more than likely may not, have a clue about proper dress, formal or otherwise. By enforcing a standard of attire to be worn at at formal event, they are in effect teaching the students how to dress when the invitation says "black tie". That this means the students have less latitude in what is acceptable to wear to the prom is a good thing across the boards. It teaches them to respect the wishes of their hosts, as well as teaching them what to wear to a formal event.

If the school board were trying to embrace political correctness, or promote ethnic diversity, then the invitation to the prom would have said, black tie or national costume. But it doesn't, and so all "options" are off the table (and off dance floor).

MacMillan of Rathdown ,

It appears that you may have taken issue with my post and that's okay , but I assure you no issue was intended .

As stated in my original post " I understand your point " . As a matter of fact , I agree with a lot of what you have said in both posts . After examining this issue prior to my original post , I just happened to have a different ending opinion , that is all .

As far as the subject of fly plaids and when or where the Royals wear kilts wasn't the point , it wasn't meant to be literal , it was only meant to illustrate a viewpoint . I would never claim to know the proper protocol of the Royals or the use of the fly plaid .

My only point was this : while on one hand I agree with what you are saying , while on the other hand I see Scottish formal wear accepted in our society as formal wear . The U.S. Military accepts it as does any government office . This has been true since our founding . I understand that it may be percieved as ethnic but so are pants in some cultures that reside here .

My only point on political correctness wasn't to suggest the school board should embrace it , but rather they were operating in fear of it . I agree , one can't allow the prom to turn into a costume party , I just never thought I would live long enough to see proper highland dress in the U.S. be considered as too on the edge or too ethnic .

I know one has to be careful about High School youth and the rules and to that I most certainly agree .

I am only saying that Scottish fromal attire and U.S. formal attire ( which is anglo-european ) are one in the same . Both are part of the founding of our country .

At any rate , we are probably more similar than dissimilar in our views , this is the beauty of this site , exchange of opinions !!

Best regards , Mike

[davedove]

p.s. I would be remiss if I did not admit to being rather biased in this case. I grew up in the next school district over from the one in question. This particular school district did not then, and apparently does not now seem to be very “enlightened”.

Having grown up in the area, I can say you are correct. Most likely, the school officials weren't concerned with whether a kilt was appropriate or not for the occasion. Their thought process was probably "We can't have this guy coming to the prom in women's clothing."

[Zardoz]

Telling folks where not to wear a kilt, and using one of the British royals* as an example, a banner day for Rathdown.

*albeit one who is seldom seen wearing a kilt, even in Scotland.

[rondo]

I'm with you and Zardoz. IF I had a kilt at the time of my graduation in 1970 you can be certain that I would have worn it to my Prom, WITHOUT asking permission.

In 1978 at my prom...this would have been a non-issue...progressive school district in Northern Cali.
Rondo

[kc8ufv]

Interesting that the dress code policy link on the Granite City School District website is not working... wonder why?

Deleted

Probably.

[Thorina]

I'd like to hear the entire story. First off, why is a 19 year old going to the prom? Second, how did the school board become involved at all? I don't remember having to pass a dress code pre-test to attend the prom.
I'd love to hear the background story before siding either way.