TOPIC: Prom, Prom, Shake Your Pom, Pom
Source: FOXNews.com
Photos: Higgins High School Student Life website
Dozens of girls were turned away from a prom at Higgins High School because a teacher thought their dresses were too revealing. Families of the girls said the teacher cited alleged violations of the Jefferson Parish schools dress code, most of them related to excessive display of cleavage.
"I was embarrassed," said Miranda Melerine, 17, a senior at the Marrero high school, who was among those barred by teacher Judy Gardner, an adviser to senior activities. "We can't go back to prom night. Prom's over. Our prom has been stolen from us." Melerine said she is larger-busted than many of the girls who passed inspection at the door. She said it is harder for her to get the right fit in a prom dress and that Gardner gave her blessing to a picture of the dress long before the dance.
Earlis Fayette, 18, said his girlfriend also was sent away by Gardner at the door. "I find it's wrong, because you can't help what the girl has. You're born with that," he said. "I think it was discrimination toward a woman who has features."
Gardner refused to talk with parents who rushed to the dance hall Friday night after frantic calls from daughters. She also declined comment Saturday to The Times-Picayune of New Orleans, saying she is not allowed to talk to the press. The Associated Press could not locate her Sunday. But Jefferson Parish schools spokesman Jeff Nowakowski said Gardner did nothing wrong and that the ones in error were girls who showed up with dresses that didn't comply with a district code that says: "A student will not wear clothing that exposes the student's back, chest or midriff."
The policy, which also strictly restricts any use of fishnet or see-through clothing, has been in effect for years and is included in a handbook that parents sign, Nowakowski said. He said that students who didn't gain admittance Friday night were given a chance to leave and alter their dresses to bring them into compliance, and that some did that. Twenty to 25 girls "didn't meet the code and so they were turned away because they didn't want to fix the dress in order to come inside," Nowakowski said. "It should have covered the breast, and that's not what happened last night."

The Sope-Bocks: I applaud Ms. Gardner and Mr. Nowakowski for sticking by the rules. My wife is a high school teacher. Each year, the staff at her school has to turn away young girls who are showing way too much skin from underneath skimpy dresses. The fact is that the students know their attire is not within the dress code for the school. Their parents know it, too. Each and every student is given a school rule book -- and the parents sign that they have read that rulebook. Yet, the girls continue to try and break the rules in order to show as much "booty" as possible.
Let's face it -- in many high schools across the nation, the prom is little more than a dress-up musical prelude to drunken sex free-for-alls over the weekend. My question is -- WHERE were the fathers of these young ladies? WHY didn't they look at their daughters and put their foot down BEFORE she ever left the house? HOW could a mother send her daughter to a darkly-lit place where hormonal boys and girls would be gyrating their loins against each other -- dressed like high-dollar call girls (or as JayZ and Imus would call them, ho's)?!?
Ms. Gardner and Mr. Nowakowski would be faced with ridicule and outrage had they allowed the girls to enter -- and one of them ended up being gang-raped by horny boys. Instead, they did the right thing. They stuck by the rules and offered the girls a way to "fix" the problem -- specifically cover their breasts. Those that didn't and are now complaining have only themselves (and their parents) to blame.
BTW, it's not like the girls weren't given some leeway. Check out the included photos, straight from the Higgins High School website. I see several examples of young ladies showing too much skin -- from the Halloween party and Winter Formal.

TOPIC: Let Freedom Ring!

by Chuck Colson / Prison Fellowship

In too many cases, Christian children in public school classrooms are being forced to act like atheists. After all, that is effectively what is happening when they are told not to talk about Jesus, not to sing about Jesus, and not to write about Jesus. A very small but vocal minority pound away at teachers and school officials, intimidating them into thinking that the public school must be a "religion-free zone." Their attacks have resulted in the religious aspects of even Christmas being banned, Christian students being silenced, and teachers being censored. A climate of fear about religion surrounds too many schools. But you and I have a great opportunity to stop this discrimination against our children who want to express their faith at school.
January 16 is Religious Freedom Day, and President Bush's special proclamation will ask schools to commemorate the day. While many public schools are denying students' rights to freely express their faith, the U.S. Department of Education has issued guidelines that clearly list and explain those rights. For example, students have the legal right to express their faith in their assignments; they can witness to their classmates; they can read their Bibles at school; and they can pray. But many teachers have never seen these guidelines and believe they cannot allow these or any other religious expressions in their classrooms.
It's fitting that Religious Freedom Day comes on January 16, the day after we commemorate Martin Luther King's birthday. After all, King's religious faith was the foundation of his fight for civil rights. And it was religious freedom in America that allowed him to express his faith against a dreadful evil and move the entire nation. While many people will commemorate Martin Luther King Day, few even know about Religious Freedom Day. That's why an organization called Gateways to Better Education is leading a national campaign to raise awareness about Religious Freedom Day. Gateways helps public schools teach Judeo-Christian history, thought, and values. It has also developed a website, ReligiousFreedomDay.com, to provide you everything you need to commemorate the day in your church, your home, and your school.
Other organizations have now joined with Gateways to bring greater awareness to Religious Freedom Day. These include the Beckett Fund, which is a great religious liberties firm defending us in our case with the IFI, the Association of American Educators, the Institute for Religion and Democracy, and the Council for America's First Freedom, headed by Ambassador Robert Seiple.
You can help promote religious freedom in our schools. Why don't you educate your children's teachers about the Department of Education's guidelines? Or ask them to spend a few minutes to talk with their students about their religious freedom, or to discuss with them the president's proclamation? And in your church next Sunday, why not distribute information on students' religious liberties to the Sunday school classes and youth groups?
The law is on our side. Gateways to Better Education has prepared fact sheets that are available by calling us here at BreakPoint (1-877-3CALLBP) or by visiting our website. This year, you can help public schools promote civil liberties and stop discrimination against children of faith by commemorating Religious Freedom Day. Let your voice be heard. Let freedom ring!

TOPIC: In Gainesville, Long-time Residents Recall the Terror
The mass murderer who caused that fear in 1990 is due to be executed today.
By JESSICA RIFFEL, Special to the Times-Union

October 24 - Danny Rolling's scheduled execution today has sparked memories in long-time Gainesville residents who vividly remember the terror they felt in 1990 when Rolling murdered five students. But many current University of Florida students do not recognize the name of the man who killed four UF students and one Santa Fe Community College student.
Jarrod Doll, 20, said he doesn't know much about Rolling or the murders that occurred when he was 4, so the execution today doesn't mean much to him. But his mother, Louie Doll, said she remembers the sleepless nights she spent living in Gainesville that fall. She worked as a nurse, living with her husband and her three young sons in the northwest part of town - several miles from where the murders took place. "Even though we knew it was students, I felt just as scared," she said. "He was after small, dark-haired women, which I am. ... It heightened my concern, and it made me more nervous." Even today, when she sees girls jogging alone at night, she remembers the events that made most Gainesville residents too afraid to walk or jog alone. "Your fear never leaves you," she said.

A panel on a wall of graffiti on the western edge of the University of Florida campus lists the names of Danny Rolling's murder victims. Several years ago, the UF Interfraternity Council took on the task of preserving the panel. JOHN RAOUX

Scott Miller, a UF psychology professor, said the recent newspaper articles leading up to Rolling's execution have reminded him of the fear he felt for his daughter, Erica, who had just transferred to UF when the murders happened. "Nobody can imagine the [victims'] parents' perspectives, but if you were a parent in this town at that time, you can come closer," said Miller, who moved to Gainesville in 1977. "It really was horrible."
Erica Miller, who lived near UF's campus with her boyfriend, moved into her parents' home for a few weeks. Miller said he locked every door and used wood to double enforce sliding glass doors. Her father said he doesn't feel anything will be changed by Rolling's execution today, but he said he thinks the parents deserve a resolution to 16 years of pain. "I used to be more liberal on this issue than I am now," he said. "I think being a parent of a college student in 1990 changed me."
But for many students, who were in preschool in 1990, the murders are less personal. Instead, they say that the recent coverage of Rolling has made them think about the legal system and the death penalty. Most only know about the murders from what they've heard from parents and friends and the scene painted on a section of a wall along Southwest 34th Street, which states "Remember 1990" and lists the victims. The Interfraternity Council at UF maintains that section of the wall, hoping it will inform new students and perpetuate the memories of the victims: Tracy Paules, Manuel Taboada, Christi Powell, Sonja Larson and Christa Hoyt. Powell graduated from Episcopal High School in Jacksonville.
But many people who lived in Gainesville during the murders don't need a daily reminder. They think about the victims and their families and the scary, uncertain era in Gainesville - an era they won't forget.

I was living in the Brunswick/St. Simons Island, Georgia during the time of the murders in Gainesville during 1990. I vividly recall the long sleepless nights (my girlfriend was a coed in a nearby college), TV news reports and worries everyone in the region had at the time. Danny Rolling was a sick, sadistic individual -- going so far as to cut one girl's head off and place it on the bookshelf in her apartment. Many have deserved the ultimate punishment for their crimes, but none more than Daniel Rolling. I'm glad to know that the parents of the five young ladies brutally murdered by Rolling have some final closure.