Connecticut teen James Tate will now be allowed to attend his senior prom after initially being banned when he asked his date in a message taped to the front of the school. Read the full story after the jump!!
(Fox)–Tate, 18, a senior at Shelton High School in Shelton, Conn., along with two accomplices, were originally barred from the school’s prom on June 4 for asking classmate Sonali Rodrigues to the dance by taping a message to the front of the school last Thursday.
The 12-inch cardboard letters read: “Sonali Rodrigues, Will you go to the prom with me? HMU -Tate.” HMU means hit me up, or call me.
School officials announced the good news on Saturday outside Shelton High. Headmaster Beth Smith reversed her decision that Tate and the two who helped him post the message on the school wall, can attend the prom.
“James Tate has set for us a new standard for romanticism. Principals have to make difficult decisions every day. No one could have anticipated this kind of response,” Superintendent Freeman Burr told the Connecticut Post.
That punishment, doled out by Shelton High School Headmaster Beth Smith, was widely criticized by lawmakers, students and the community.
One Facebook page had nearly 200,000 supporters of Tate to go to prom, and two state lawmakers even announced they would introduce an amendment that would force schools to provide an alternate means of punishment rather than banning students from school related activities.
Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti said Wednesday that he was unsure Tate’s “punishment fits the crime” and told FoxNews.com that school officials should reconsider the decision to allow him to go to prom.
Headmaster Smith originally said Thursday that she was sticking by banning Tate from going to prom.
