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Free condoms at the senior prom
Filed under: Teens, Activities: Babies, In The News, Day Care & Education
How would you feel if you got a letter in the mail letting you know that the school board had approved providing condoms to students at the upcoming junior/senior prom for free in an effort to encourage safe sex and responsible decision making? That's the letter parents in Dunlap, Illinois, near Peoria received recently.The letter went on to recommend that parents talk to their children about safe sex and "discourage them from taking the risks involved with sexual intercourse." The letter justified the program, explaining that "the minor cost of supplying contraceptives to students is greatly offset by the value of the health and safety of Dunlap students."
Parents' reactions were mixed. "I was a little shocked," said Rose Haines, whose daughter attends the high school. She was surprised that officials would implement such a plan without checking with parents first "but I wasn't too worried, I trust my daughter." Of course, the school board wouldn't do something like that without community approval -- if at all.
The letter was, in fact, a hoax. "It was pretty wild . . . as a parent, it's just funny," said Kristi Bruch who spotted it as a prank right away. It apparently looked pretty official, however, arriving on colored letterhead as it did. What with mailing labels, copying, and postage, estimates are that the senior prank must have cost nearly $200.
The school's web site features a notice saying that "Earlier this week a fraudulent letter was mailed to Dunlap High School families which stated that free condoms would be available at this year's prom. This letter was not written by the Dunlap Board of Education or the Dunlap High School administration." The school principal, whose name signs the note, also asks that anyone that knows who wrote the letter come forward.
No one is quite sure if a crime has been committed, but even if there was, it seems to me that this is much more creative and much less destructive than, say, turning the third floor of the high school into a giant salad bowl. I have to give the students credit for thinking up something new.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
4-24-2008 @ 1:22PM
Meagan said...Fraud maybe? Pretty sure it's illegal to pretend to be someone you aren't even in letter form... but I do agree with you that this was pretty harmless, illegal or not. And funny and creative.
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4-24-2008 @ 1:40PM
Jenni said...Yes, it was a fraudulent act; a senior prank too! A great thought out one for sure. However, these are people who are on the brink of adulthood and should be held accountable for their actions (though a slap on the wrist would suffice just fine). I don't think they should face huge punishment; after all this is one of those moments that you think: how dare you? while trying to hide a smile behind your hand.
Even funnier is the parents who fell for it!
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4-24-2008 @ 2:28PM
Lindsey said...That is pretty great. And I'm sure it forced some parents to discuss the issue of safe sex with their kids. So bonus for a senior prank that ended up doing good too!
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4-24-2008 @ 4:39PM
Sandyone said...That's an awesome prank. It's so completely believable and no one got hurt . I'd have loved to listen to the administration as it received it's first few calls from irate parents!!!
I hope they don't find out who did this until it's too late to "make an example of them".
(And don't anyone tell my kids that I feel this way about this!)
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4-24-2008 @ 5:01PM
Karen said...I think it is pretty funny. And I too hope they get away with it.
The fraud part could be addressed to the senior class as a whole and then a stern warning that things like this cannot be tolerated.
And then they should drop it.
Hey, we set of alarm clocks in our lockers and let pigs loose in the school. I think their letter is much more creative.
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