Dirty dancing sparks complaints to paper, schools

We were braced for an onslaught of negative reaction to our story on "dirty dancing at Clover Hill High" [Oct. 15 issue], but to our surprise, many of the phone calls, voice mails and e-mails were supportive of this newspaper's coverage. Their general reaction: "parents want to know about our children." For each contact we requested a letter to the editor, but some parents who left voice mails did not leave a return phone number.

Though the story focused on the dancing of about seven couples at the homecoming dance for Clover Hill High School (CHHS), there may have been many more. Many parents and students who contacted us said it could have been any dance at any high school. That style of dancing appears to be common among some students even though it violates school standards.

Less than half of the feedback was critical of the paper's reporting, which included a photo of teens dancing suggestively. The closer the callers or writers were to the teens involved or the school, the more likely they were to criticize us. Several callers said the school was a buzz about the story and "everyone knew who the girl was," even though the photo on page 20 didn't show their faces. No one specifically expressed concern for the teenage male in the photo.

As you would expect, the mother of the teenage girl was upset. Her letter ran in the Oct. 22 issue, but her name was withheld.

"I'm going to do something, but I don't know what yet," she told us.

A friend of the girl's mother demanded "a written apology in the paper for the embarrassment you've caused [the girl]." The friend was insistent and not happy when we declined. She believed the newspaper shouldn't take photos of teens unless "they were positive" and questioned the decision to let us into the dance.

Each week, the school system e-mails a list of events (called News Tips) to the media to generate coverage. Freelance photographers Lisa Billings and Bill Redmond called Clover Hill's administrative offices in advance to inform the school they were coming and checked in with Principal Deborah Marks the night of the dance. While we decided what to do about the potential controversy, three positive photos ran on page 10 in the Oct. 8 issue under the headline "Clover Hill High homecoming fun." When Billings took the photo that caused the ruckus, it was so dark in the gym she didn't know how the teens were dancing - cropping off their heads accidentally because of the darkness.

Two teens, saying they weren't CHHS students but who referred to the school's students as "we," called and reported that the story was the talk of the school. They complained that the newspaper "reported the good things at Cosby [High School] but were negative about Clover Hill." Then the girl on the speakerphone said, "That's how we dance." Asked if they would like to send a letter to the editor, they hung up.

That's the same point made by Kevin McElroy in his letter this week on page 21. McElroy, who graduated from CHHS last June and now attends James Madison University, said he was surprised that only seven couples were misbehaving. "The exact same thing," he wrote, can be seen at any Chesterfield high school dance. If schools enforced the dress code, he predicted the students wouldn't go to the dances.

Most of the parents we spoke to haven't written letters to the editor, but many told us they had witnessed the same kind of dancing and behavior previously at CHHS and at other Chesterfield high schools.

One CHHS parent left a voice mail saying she had e-mailed Marks and Superintendent Marcus Newsome about her concerns.

"It needed to be brought to light," she said.

School officials seem to "be hesitant to ruffle the feathers of parents by enforcing rules," offered one parent, who has chaperoned before.

"It seems like the kids are making the rules," complained another parent.

We provided copies of the Oct. 15 issue to the school community relations department, so Newsome could comment on the story. He was out of town when the paper was printed, but we asked for a "5-10 minute telephone interview with him."

Director of Community Relations Tim Bullis e-mailed us, replying, "We have responded to the questions put forward. Unless there is new information to address, the superintendent does not understand the need for a follow-up interview."