Here's the...um..."crime" in question.
NOTE: These are cut-out letters stuck to the side of the HS...IT'S NOT VANDALISM:
This HS is less than 5 minutes from my home...LET'S HEAR IT FOR CT MONEY WELL SPENT!
Tate gets support from around the world after being banned from Shelton prom
Anne M. Amato, Staff Writer
SHELTON -- When James Tate hung a sign asking a friend to the prom, he never thought he'd become the latest Internet sensation.
The Shelton High School student, who was banned from his senior prom for posting the message, is attracting thousands of supporters across the world from social networking sites, with thousands signing petitions pressuring school officials to overturn their punishment and others organizing an alternative prom for him.
Most of the attention is on social network sites like Facebook and Twitter with nearly all voicing support for James Tate, 18.
Late Wednesday, a Facebook page -- Let James Tate Go to the Prom -- had more than 45,000 "likes" supporting the idea.
There are also plans in the works on another Facebook page for an alternative prom for Tate, who was suspended Monday for posting a sign outside the high school's main entrance asking Sonali Rodrigues to the prom.
She said yes, but because he was suspended after April 1, he was told by school administrators that he can't attend the June 4 prom. School officials told him what he did was considered a safety risk and he had trespassed on school grounds after hours.
Tate needed to climb a ladder to tape the 12-inch letters onto the building around 1 a.m. Friday. He said he took a number of precautions, including wearing a helmet. Two friends who helped him post the missive also received one-day in-house suspensions and were also banned from the prom.
In addition to the support Tate has received on Facebook and Twitter, Tate backers started a petition drive, signed by more than 1,200 people, on change.org, asking school administrators to repeal the punishment and allow Tate and his friends to go to the prom.
For school officials the controversy has become somewhat... "prom-lematic." Keep the punishment or relent to the thousands calling for its repeal.
Despite the outcry, school officials haven't budged on the matter.
"I am aware of the local, state and national media attention surrounding the situation and I have no further comments regarding the matter at this time," schools superintendent Freeman Burr said in a brief statement issued Wednesday by email.
SHS Headmaster Beth Smith has not returned repeated calls for comment. Neither have a number of Board of Education members who were called.
But some town officials are throwing their support behind Tate.
Mayor Mark A. Lauretti said the school's decision may need a second look.
"I'm not convinced the punishment here fits the crime," said Lauretti. "... I'm at a loss here. You know, these are kids and kids make mistakes."
Lauretti said that he respects Smith and that she's done a good job tightening the reins at the high school. But, he added, officials may want to reconsider their decision.
Alderman John "Jack" Finn has come out in support of Tate.
"The young man really didn't do anything wrong for that punishment," Finn said. "He showed his affection for the young lady with whom he wanted to spend the night with at the senior prom. How many of you wanted to make a person feel special when you were their age?"
Finn called Tate's punishment "too harsh."
Alderman Eric McPherson agreed.
"Normally I would support Dr. Smith," he said. "But this student didn't harm anything. This is just too harsh of a punishment."
McPherson said he's asking the school administration to reconsider Smith's decision. "If that doesn't happen, I urge the Board of Education or the superintendent to take action and overrule her (Smith)."
Inside the school Wednesday, students said the atmosphere was tense, though administrators did not mention the Tate issue.
Two police officers were stationed outside the school turning back anyone without official business there, including the media.
"We were on pass restriction, which means no one was allowed a pass except in an emergency," said Nick DeMarco, 18, a senior. "Housemasters were monitoring just about everything we were doing, in particular monitoring tweets."
