Was it different in the '50s ?

Are school dance rules a grind?
Thu, Apr. 05, 2007
From flashlights to shutdowns, some schools try to clean up students’ moves.
Grinding (or freaking or getting hyphy or twerking or whatever the kids are calling it) is dancing through high schools.
How officals and parents react varies from school to school. Some TeenStar members were asked to report on their schools. Katie Glueck, Blue Valley North: Bob Duncan, an associate principal, said: “We have never shut down a dance. We have talked to individuals, but we’ve never sent anybody home. We expect, obviously, that the dancing be appropriate, but we’ll give kids a lot of leeway. We don’t have the ‘dance police’ out there, but if something is (blatantly) inappropriate, we’ll say something …
“Be appropriate; that’s the bottom line. I’m not saying that the dancing has to be in good taste, because I find a lot of dancing (at our dances) that’s not, but it does need to be appropriate.”
Andrea Olsen, Olathe Northwest: “As far as I know Olathe Northwest doesn’t have any rules against dancing or anything else. Our DJs can play whatever they want, the chaperones and administrators don’t put limits on dancing, and I haven’t heard of anyone getting kicked out for the way they danced.”
Meredith Weedman, Harrisonville High: “We don’t have any rules against the dancing.”
Alex Pratt, Blue Springs South: “The only thing Blue Springs South does is to have teachers walk around and check, and ‘Dancing at Blue Springs South is appropriate and respectful’ (or something along those lines) is printed on the back of all tickets for school dances. And I and others in Student Senate had to go around and explain to the classrooms what is acceptable and what is not, etc.”Naomi Prioleau,Leavenworth High: “Leavenworth High School’s method to stop dirty dancing is flashing the students. Chaperones will carry flashlights around, and if they catch you, then you are flashed and have to break up. If they come across the same couple or any couple that refuses to stop dancing dirty, then they are banned from school dances for the rest of the year.”Andrew Squitiro, Lincoln College Prep: “At my school we call it ‘getting hyphy’ or ‘twerking.’ Dancing has never really been an issue at my school.”
TeenStar staff
© 2007 Kansas City Star