ALISO VIEJO – Three years after Principal Charles Shalter canceled the school's homecoming dance after witnessing provocative dancing and extreme misbehavior, he says a strict dance contract has changed student behavior.
"Do I ever have kids freak-dancing? Yes, but it's not the norm. That's rare," Salter said. "The whole culture is very different so it's really a non-issue at our school."
Aliso Niguel was back in the media spotlight this week as other schools are confronting the issue with similar contracts. But to Salter, freak-dancing was not the only issue — problems included students showing up drunk and dressing inappropriately.
A new provision – added more than a year ago - states that any vehicle in the parking and attendee drop-off area of a dance can be searched.
To go to a dance at Aliso Niguel, students must sign the two-page contract that includes dancing guidelines and a strict dress code. Dancing guidelines include: no straddling legs, no bending over, both feet on the floor, no front to back touching or grinding, and no touching of breasts, buttocks, or genital areas. Students can go online to see what attire is not allowed.
"Initially when this all happened, I had parents who were kind of upset at the fact that their kids were missing out a part of high school," Salter recalled. "I also had some parents who felt that it was making our school look bad to the whole country."
"Now there's a sense of pride," Salter said. "We are the one's that set the different standard."
In 2006, Salter canceled all school dances in early September, immediately after a back-to-school dance where he saw several students "freaking." Some students arrived at the dance intoxicated as well, and police responded after several students were fighting on school grounds.
The ban, which erased the homecoming dance, garnered national media attention and placed the school in the middle of a long-standing debate about acceptable behavior for teenagers.
After several parent and student forums, the contract was created, lifting a nearly three-month ban on dances.
Students who are currently seniors were freshmen when the contract was implemented three years ago.
"Students were getting really messed up. They overdid it with the freak dancing and they killed it for us," said senior Ernesto Montes.
Senior Harley Grammer feels the same way.
"We have, like, no dances anymore. We have three dances and it's our senior year. We had little non-formal ones and now we have none," Grammer said. "We got the short end of the stick."
Junior Ali Chavez said that freak-dancing is no longer a big issue and feels that the rules are a little too strict.
"I understand the bending over and the straddling of legs but everything else is too strict," said Chavez. "It's just fun if you're smart about it. It's basically about respecting yourself and not letting someone grab you."
Others students feel the added regulations have made the school better.
"I feel like it's a lesson learned. It was happening so something was bound to happen," said junior Trey Ross. "Our school had the most publicity. Mr. Salter took the most action out of it."
"We have a better class now, a better school. We're a little more mature, respectful," Ross added.
