Confusion over guest list causes district to review policy

By Karin Burke | The Daily Journal

Published Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Some Fergus Falls High School students are saying that their winter Sno-ball dance was taken from them after conflicts arose around a guest list and unclear changes to procedure came from administration, causing the district to review its policy.

“We’re rewriting the whole policy,” she said. “Maybe we won’t sell tickets at the door any longer. Maybe we’ll have to have everyone signed up, and have an alphabetized list of names at the door.”

The guest list came under fire on two counts. Students and some angry parents say the deadline for signing up a guest was changed and students weren’t notified. The administration failed to make clear what the rules or expectations were, parents and students said.

Secondly, the controversial list was not applied to all students equally, according to students, allowing some guests entrance when others had been told it was too late.

The purpose of the guest list, according to Assistant Principal Tindyl Rund, is to register non-Fergus Falls students for the dance and is largely a safety measure.

“It’s part of our efforts to ensure a safe and fun environment for all of the students,” she said. “From the list of names, a chemical dependency counselor, a school-police liason, and school officials can check for safety concerns.”

The change in time was made to allow time for background checks to occur, she said, adding, “I’m going to work really hard to make sure this kind of thing doesn’t happen again. Prom is right around the corner.”

The guest list has been standard for high school dances for some years. The change came in the list’s deadline. According to Seamus Sullivan, a senior, students “always went down to buy tickets and sign up our guests after school on Friday.”

This year, the deadline was moved to noon Friday, though students heard no announcement of this until the end of the day. “And the list wasn’t followed, anyway,” Sullivan said, “because there were kids that didn’t buy their tickets beforehand and never signed up on the list. They just showed up at the door (to the dance), bought their tickets and went in.” According to Sullivan, students had a choice to either buy a button for $5 in advance or pay $8 at the door. Sullivan intended to bring his girlfriend, a Fergus Falls resident who is home schooled. When he was told that he was welcome, but his girlfriend could not attend, he opted not to go at all.

Patty Sjolie, mother of a senior, said that her daughter called her in tears on Friday afternoon after being told it was too late to register her boyfriend, a student at Underwood High School.

“If she would have known the deadline, she would have signed up months ago. This was her senior dance, and it was very important to her,” she said. Her daughter, told she could not bring her date, did not attend the dance.

Adam Elsenpeter, a sophomore, says that the noon deadline was not adhered to. He bought his tickets at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, unaware of the deadline. He was also able to register his date, a student at Underwood. He later heard that other students had been turned down.

“The guys who drove us to the dance were from Underwood, too. And they weren’t on the list. They just showed up and paid. No one checked names at the door or asked if we were students there (at FFHS) or not.” he said.

Rund acknowledged that tickets and buttons were also sold at the door of the event.

“We’re rewriting the whole policy. Maybe we won’t sell tickets at the door any longer. Maybe we’ll have to have everyone signed up, and have an alphabetized list of names at the door.”

Rund suggested that safety issues have increased at the school in the last year.

“Keep in mind the position we are in, the measures we have to take to uphold the kids’ safety. I can’t discuss some of those safety issues for confidentiality reasons, and that means a lot of kids felt I wasn’t explaining the reasons (for the changes) to them.”

She noted that of 700 plus students at the dance, only four or five came to her with complaints.