lonesomexloveus Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43004197/ns/us_news-education/ James Tate thought he was being sweet when he asked a friend to prom with a grand romantic gesture, but the Connecticut senior's show of affection — seemingly ripped from the silver screen — had anything but a Hollywood ending. The notice read: "Sonali Rodrigues, Will you go to the prom with me? HMU -Tate." HMU is short for hit me up, or call me. Rodrigues said yes, but then, to Tate's surprise, school officials said no: Tate and his two friends were handed one-day, in-house suspensions by the headmaster and barred from the prom. "I thought they would appreciate my sincerity and creativity," Tate told TODAY's Matt Lauer (on this page) , but school officials took a different view of the gesture. Tate told The Connecticut Post that he was told posting the message constituted trespassing and posed a safety risk. School policy is to ban from the prom any student suspended after April 1, but Tate was stunned when the punishment was handed down. "I thought maybe a reprimand — clean it up — which I was willing to do, and I ended up doing on Sunday night, but instead, there's an investigation," Tate told Lauer. As news of the ban spread, so too did the outrage. Tate's posting on his school's wall has led to hundreds of posts on a different type of wall. Friends have set up a Facebook page urging school officials to reconsider, where thousands are appealing on his behalf. Rodrigues, also interviewed on TODAY, told Lauer that she appreciated Tate's gesture. "I thought it was really sweet. I never thought he would get in trouble, so when he actually told me was suspended, I thought he was joking." The New Shelton prom's Facebook page is calling for a separate dance Tate can attend, and on Twitter, streams of users are unfurling their 140 character messages of support using the hashtag #teamtate. Public officials are speaking out. Mayor Mark Lauretti told the Connecticut Post, "I'm at a loss here," explaining, "I'm not convinced the punishment fits the crime." As for Tate, he doesn't need any cardboard letters to convey his new message: He's sorry and he'd like to go to prom. what this guy needs to do is get John Cusack to go to his school holding a boombox to get this decision reversed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhulud Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Lloyd Dobler! FTW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fueledbymike Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 A school in my area made a no "grinding" rule 5 years ago and some kids had just about planned a new student run prom but somehow backfired. it would have been legit if they went through with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icecream Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 am I missing something ? what was so bad about that ??? edit: just saw the video that he put it on a wall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterrod Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 At least they know who the Key Master is going to be at the after party. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Hundred Fifty-Two Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 What???? Vandalism of school property can get you suspended? News to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcm1610 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 It's just a blanket, cookie-cutter penalty for what falls under vandalism or whatever the article called it. He gets 1 day of suspension, and since his suspension came after April 1, he automatically cannot go to prom. Stupid. People who bitch about fairness ruin things a lot of the time. I remember reading something a couple years ago about a girl.. honor roll, well-behaved, perfect student girl who traded cars with her dad since her car needed repairs or something. She drives dad's car to school, but it has a hunting rifle in the trunk. Someone sees it, calls the police, and she's no-questions-asked expelled from school because of a zero-tolerance policy. Sometimes you need to look at the big picture and not lay down hard and fast rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 im missing something.. what did he do wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
user456 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 What is up with these teenage boys building giant letters to ask girls to prom? My boyfriends sister was asked in a similar way. He put giant foam letters made with pvc pipes in the pond behind her house. Personally I think it's a waste of time and also prom is really boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonesomexloveus Posted May 12, 2011 Author Share Posted May 12, 2011 What is up with these teenage boys building giant letters to ask girls to prom? My boyfriends sister was asked in a similar way. He put giant foam letters made with pvc pipes in the pond behind her house. Personally I think it's a waste of time and also prom is really boring. i don't even really remember my prom, and i don't even drink, haha. i think it's sweet! now, if he had spray painted the building, or ruined the football field by spelling things out with plastic forks in the ground then i could see where that would be grounds for missing prom. but this didn't hurt anybody or anything and was really just a cute gesture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
user456 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 What is up with these teenage boys building giant letters to ask girls to prom? My boyfriends sister was asked in a similar way. He put giant foam letters made with pvc pipes in the pond behind her house. Personally I think it's a waste of time and also prom is really boring. i don't even really remember my prom, and i don't even drink, haha. i think it's sweet! now, if he had spray painted the building, or ruined the football field by spelling things out with plastic forks in the ground then i could see where that would be grounds for missing prom. but this didn't hurt anybody or anything and was really just a cute gesture. I just remember it being really boring and leaving super early. They gave us beer mugs and champagne glasses as gifts ha ha. Yet they go out of their way to make sure we weren't drinking/drunk. They even stop you at the door and ask you a few questions in front of a video camera. It does suck that he got in trouble. I can see why they punished him but suspension was enough. He should be able to go to the prom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
controlthebleeding Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 this is just retarded.. i didn't give a shit about prom when i was in high school, but i am however a sucker for romantic gestures, so i am a bit peaved at him not being able to go to prom. i do however see him going.. if it's getting news then i'm sure the headmaster will most likely change his mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tylerrr Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 He can still have a good time and abide by their punishment... But there's probably not that much to do in Connecticut at least he can still take her to Apple Bees! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evvandflow Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 kinda funny how this is two towns over from me and i hadnt heard about it til it hit national news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Hundred Fifty-Two Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 im missing something.. what did he do wrong? http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vandalism willful or malicious destruction or defacement of public or private property Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonesomexloveus Posted May 12, 2011 Author Share Posted May 12, 2011 this is just retarded.. i didn't give a shit about prom when i was in high school, but i am however a sucker for romantic gestures, so i am a bit peaved at him not being able to go to prom. i do however see him going.. if it's getting news then i'm sure the headmaster will most likely change his mind. the headmaster is a lady; she probably never got asked to prom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
controlthebleeding Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 this is just retarded.. i didn't give a shit about prom when i was in high school, but i am however a sucker for romantic gestures, so i am a bit peaved at him not being able to go to prom. i do however see him going.. if it's getting news then i'm sure the headmaster will most likely change his mind. the headmaster is a lady; she probably never got asked to prom. is this her and is her name Anita Hoargarth? he could have been a twiddler, dreamer or a silly heart... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flood Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 kinda funny how this is two towns over from me and i hadnt heard about it til it hit national news. if you live in MA this is definitely not two towns away... because i work about 300 yards from the school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evvandflow Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 kinda funny how this is two towns over from me and i hadnt heard about it til it hit national news. if you live in MA this is definitely not two towns away... because i work about 300 yards from the school home for the summer in Southbury Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harryq Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I'm not sure why I should feel sympathy for this guy... he broke a rule(/law?) and is being punished accordingly. not only that, but he has an excuse to not have to go to prom and he's still gonna get laid. am I missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottheisel Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 For some reason, this sentence is missing from the article Alison quoted—it's what actually explains what he did: "Tate and two friends posted 12-inch tall cardboard letters outside the school's main entrance, where everyone would see them going in last Friday morning." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
controlthebleeding Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I'm not sure why I should feel sympathy for this guy... he broke a rule(/law?) and is being punished accordingly. not only that, but he has an excuse to not have to go to prom and he's still gonna get laid.am I missing something? apparently companys and street teams break rules when they put fliers in the crack of your house door or on your car windshield. it's a bit of a gray area when it pertains to vandalism. this guy just taped cardboard to a building he already had made plans to take off. no big deal. i can see a small slap on the wrist, but not being able to go to prom.. c'mon.. really. i once got a weeks detention for my pen breaking in my mouth and causign ink to spill onto the desk and my clothes, and in my mouth. it caused laughter among my classmates which was considered a disturbance and defacing school property. i was in middle school. it was dumb to even give me detention in the first place. but since the school didn't allow corporal punishment anymore (swats with a paddle) that's what i got. school rules shouldn't be black and white. but apparently they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonesomexloveus Posted May 12, 2011 Author Share Posted May 12, 2011 For some reason, this sentence is missing from the article Alison quoted—it's what actually explains what he did:"Tate and two friends posted 12-inch tall cardboard letters outside the school's main entrance, where everyone would see them going in last Friday morning." when i copied and pasted from msnbc i had to go through and take out all the extraneous crap from captions, etc. i must've just accidentally cut that line out too. whoops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irule Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vandalism willful or malicious destruction or defacement of public or private property Lolz. Cardboard cutouts are SERIOUS BUSINESS.Are you kidding me? Do you really agree with this overreaction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnywreck Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 i think it's funny that people are actually agreeing with rules and regulations on this board. especially when the perpetrator did nothing wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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