Conn. Teen Can Attend Prom After All
Saturday, May 14, 2011 | Updated 2:19 PM EDT
A Connecticut headmaster has reversed her decision to bar a student from the prom after he broke school rules by hanging his prospective date's invitation in a school doorway.
After an uproar among Shelton High School students, headmaster Dr. Beth Smith read a statement Saturday that announced a change in those rules.
"I've decided to implement alternative consequences on a case by case basis beginning with James Tate and for other students who received suspension after April 1st, which would then permit some to attend prom."
Dr. Smith, accompanied by Superintendent Freeman Burr and Mayor Mark Lauretti, said the notoriety surrounding Tate's ban became too much of a distraction to Shelton High School and the town and she had to make a decision that would allow them to put focus back on teaching and learning.
Nearly 200,000 people are supporting Tate on Facebook and Twitter, saying this punishment does not fit the crime.
“I feel like it’s gone far enough. I can’t wait for it to be over, in a way,” Tate had said this past week.
And now it is over and Tate's free to follow through on his romantic gesture.
