Utah Girls Barred from Homecoming Dance, Principal Apologizes
Oct-04-2012

Schools around the country have instituted dress codes for daily wear and proms, but a high school principal from Tooele, Utah went too far, and on Monday had to apologize to students for barring dozens of girls-including the homecoming queen-from entering Saturday night's homecoming dance because their skirts were too short. Mom Donna Hesleph, whose daughter Amber called to get a ride home because she had been rejected at the door, told the Tooele Transcript Bulletin, "When I got there I saw a long line of girls who had been turned away and they were all crying."
Many of the girls who were turned away for inappropriate attire were wearing dresses that fell a couple of inches above the knee. The student handbook reads that hemlines "should be at or near knee length."
On Monday, after parents and students angrily complained about the school's prudish move, the principal, Kendall Topham, held four special assemblies. "I did give an apology. I feel like the error occurred because, with our dress standard for our formal dresses, there is some ambiguity, there is some things in question," Topham told Fox News. "Specifically, there is something in there about the length of skirt that says at knee or at or near the knee ... I also apologized that we had students and parents who had gone out and prepared for this dance and felt like, as they reviewed the policy, that they were in compliance. And then to come and be turned away, that was disheartening."
Both parents and kids alike expressed frustration that the rules were unclear. Michael Johnson, whose daughter wasn't allowed to attend the dance, told the Salt Lake City Tribune, "This isn't like these girls were dressing immodestly. You've got a vague policy, but then you've got to use some common sense and judgment." Some students complained that the rules seemed arbitrary because while knees were taboo, strapless dresses that revealed the shoulders and cleavage were allowed.

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