Straight Grindin'

I think this is absolutely hysterical, most likely due to the nature that I am the girl in this picture so I can relate. Article is from the DSM Register, shirt is from Raygun, I've been laughing for 2 days. Ok, maybe I'm not laughing after realizing it's been a solid decade since I was in this yearbook photo ... ouch. But seriously DSM Register you are 10 years late to this trend, way to capture current events!

So. Cal. Homecoming circa 2000


Johnston Homecoming circa 2010

Some adults call teen dance fad too close for their comfort

The state of teenage dancing at Johnston High School social events appears to have progressed too far in the direction of a "Girls Gone Wild" video, some fear.

Fritz Trost, a parent who chaperoned a fall dance at the school, wrote to school officials claiming that what he saw would best be described as "a sex act, albeit with clothes on."

Picture a group of girls facing each other while forming a circle on a dimly lit dance floor, surrounded by a group of boys who are rubbing against them from behind.

It's known as "grinding," and both Trost and Randy Klein, the high school's associate principal, say the issue is not confined to a small cluster of students or a scant number of songs played over the course of the evening.

It's clearly the new normal, they say.

When the same sorts of dance moves were resurrected in early November during a retreat in Boone for Johnston students, it resulted in a directive for the high school student council to come up with a satisfactory fix before prom in the spring.

"Homecoming was certainly out of control," said Klein, who also attended the Boone event. "The students were warned ahead of time (in Boone), but it wasn't very long after that the grinding began and I had to turn the lights on to stop it."

Many students grew angry and chose to stop dancing or to walk out.

Student council president Katie Lashier said rumors are spreading that many students will consider boycotting prom if a rigid dance policy is put in place.

"We haven't nailed down a solution to this yet," Lashier said. "We want to focus on in

dividuals rather than punishing the whole dance for this, but I agree with the administration that this is a problem. ... It's never good at a dance when you see girls bent over while dancing with guys. It looks trashy."

The dance fad - and resulting debate over what is acceptable - isn't unique to Johnston.

Student- and teacher-produced videos are scattered across the Internet about what forms of dancing are deemed appropriate at high schools nationwide.

Dolls are used in one video to demonstrate the limits of good taste. In lieu of taking the video route, some Johnston school officials have said it might be a more effective approach to hire a different disc jockey or to require a change in the kind of music that is played.

Trost said none of those solutions really address the issue at hand.

"This is a moral judgment and (the school officials) aren't sure what to do," said Trost, the father of a 10th-grade daughter.

"But if kids were fist-fighting at football games, I don't think they would allow that. ... Kids will push the boundary very, very far when there is no guideline."

Trost's guideline on the night of homecoming was to ask dozens of the dancers whether they would be doing what they were doing if their parents were watching.

Some said no. Many were surprised by his concern.

"They looked at me with this astonished look like, 'I can't believe you walked out on the dance floor,' " Trost said. "I was intruding on behavior that the kids felt entitled to."

But is that just a grumpy 44-year-old father talking? The coach of Johnston's varsity dance team, 23-year-old Jacque Karns-Butzke, doesn't think so.

"Some of it was gross and disgusting," Karns-Butzke said of her experience chaperoning the same dance.

"Some of it has to do with the clothing. Some girls walk by and you think, 'That is hardly a dress,' but they hardly seem to care. I think the kids forget that they aren't at a downtown club and they aren't 21 years old."

Senior Carlee Sabus said it is a shame so many of her fellow students appear willing to put up a fight for something they feel comfortable doing only when the lights are turned low.

"It comes back to character," Sabus said. "The person you are when nobody is watching is who you really are."

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Raygun, well done with this gem!