Corona del Mar High School Cracks Down on NFL-Style 'Prom Draft'

Because it "objectifies" girls and exacerbates the school's culture of "entitlement."

Kinda like white privilege, I guess.

At the O.C. Register, "High school boys hold 'draft' to pick prom dates":

In a world where asking a date to prom has become more romantic than asking for a partner’s hand in marriage, one group of high school boys has gone the opposite direction.

For years, junior and senior boys at Corona del Mar High School have selected their dates for the formal dance through an NFL-style “Prom Draft.” The school’s principal is now condemning the tradition, saying it has the potential to objectify or judge those involved.

Though the draft is not affiliated with the school and secret for the most part, some of the draft results were broadcast on Twitter, with pictures of sport-coated teens making their selections. One tweet posted by the senior class Twitter account joked the day before Thursday’s draft that “Many drafters on the prowl tomorrow for #freeagents so dress nice ladies.”

A rule book sent out in a tweet notes that “sophomores can be drafted,” and some pictures show girls’ names printed on the back of jerseys. The Twitter account has since been deactivated, but several students continued to chatter about it on Twitter in the days following the draft.

Sophomore Jessie Harris was one of the girls included in the draft and said the negative coverage it generated on Tuesday was unnecessary.

“I am part of the draft and am friends with many girls in the draft and yes, in some instances girls can be picked by appearance,” she wrote to the Register. “It is all just a fun way to decide who you will be going to prom with. It is not meant to harm those who are picked and I do not believe that it does. It is not, was never, and will never ever be used to objectify the girls at our school.”

Wow. Even the chicks on campus dig it. But hey, never let a little teenage prom-date innovation get in the way of good old bureaucratic authoritarianism!

Wait, the nearby Estancia High School campus feminists took to the barricades to denounce the objectification. Oh the humanity!

At neighboring Estancia High School, also in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, a club dedicated to discussing women’s rights issues released a statement saying the draft was “insulting.”

“Prom should be about having a fun time with your peers and celebrating the end of a successful academic year,” wrote senior Emily Flores, co-president of the Feminists United club at Estancia. “These boys must be very confused about the time we live in if they think that being asked to prom is such a high honor.”

Remember, this is Newport-Mesa Unified School District, afflicted by de facto segregation, so it's about inequality and the white hegemonic patriarchy!

I think this post is gonna qualifies for National Offend a Feminist Week, lol! (Indeed, no doubt Emily Flores is lesbian, heh.)

More at LAT, "Prom draft: Newport Beach boys rented venue to pick dates."

'People hide behind a computer screen, and there is no accountability whatsoever. You think using Facebook is bad? For teens, this is a feeding frenzy in shark-infested waters without a cage. You have chum all over the place and you are dropped right in the middle...'

The right-on quote from Sandy Cowles, a former teacher and stay-at-home mom in Irvine, at the Los Angeles Times, "Ask.fm: New social site, same bullying."

So far five teen suicides are linked to Ask.fm, but I'm out of the loop on this one. Ima check with my 17-year-old to see what'sup.

Jay Whiston, British 17-Year-Old, Killed After House Party Crashed by Facebook 'Friends'

Another one of those incredible teen tragedies you couldn't imagine happening when you were a kid.

At Telegraph UK, "Teenager stabbed to death after Facebook party is gatecrashed":

A promising A-level student was stabbed to death after a quiet house party spiralled out of control when gatecrashers spotted an invite on Facebook.

Jay Whiston, 17, collapsed after being stabbed in the stomach during an altercation over a mobile phone at the party in a quiet suburb of Colchester, Essex.

Partygoers described how the well-behaved teenage gathering, at which the host’s parents were present, descended into chaos as a large number of uninvited guests turned up and began to cause trouble.

According to witnesses, Mr Whiston, who lived with his family in Clacton, was stabbed when he attempted to intervene in a row over a mobile phone.

Paramedics, who were called to Marlowe Way in Colchester shortly after 10pm on Saturday evening, rushed Mr Whiston to Colchester General Hospital but he was pronounced a short time later.

Last night his grieving mother Caroline Shearer, 47, warned parents everywhere of the devastating impact of knife crime.

See also London's Daily Mail, "Boy, 17, stabbed to death as Facebook gatecrashers storm suburban house party supervised by parents of teenage girl."

Teenager Killed While Sticking Head Out of Roof Hatch on 'Sweet 16' Party Bus — Hit Head on Highway Underpass Near George Washington Bridge

I wonder if the kid was decapitated. It's bad all around, but to see the kid's lifeless body like that, headless ... that would be a life-scarring event for some of the kids on board, 65 in all, en route to a "Sweet 16" birthday party.

At the New York Times, "Teenager Dies After Sticking Head Through Bus Hatch and Striking Underpass."