Fighting To Save The Prom

Many high school students dream about their senior prom — a night of fun and lasting memories.

But students at Roman Catholic Kellenberg Memorial High School in Long Island, N.Y., may not experience this rite of passage.

"When the calendar came out, there was no date for the prom," said high school senior Robert Lawson. "We originally thought they would move it to a different date, and then found out they cancelled it altogether."

In a letter to parents, high school principal Brother Kenneth Hoagland canceled the prom, calling it a "rite of passage that verges on decadence."

"The whole culture after the prom: weekends in the Hamptons, booze cruises, motel rooms," he said. "Every year it's 'Can you top this?' "

Not everyone supports the school's decision.

"I support the prom," said Robert Lawson's father, Edward. "I don't think there's anything wrong with it. This is my fourth child coming through Kellenberg. My two daughters and sons had great times, great proms, and there was never any problem. I must say, I don't agree with the after-prom activities. I'm not for that. I'm not for the drunken orgies, alcohol parties that go on. I'm just saying, I would love for him to have his senior prom, dance, dinner, enjoy himself and make that his accumulation of four years with his friends."

Robert Lawson said he does not have the money to go to the Hamptons for a weekend, so indulging in the after-prom activities is not an issue.

"My friends don't pressure me. We all understand each other," he said on The Early Show. "I'm sure there are some students that will try to outdo each other. But I still don't think it's a reason to full-out cancel the prom."

Last year, dozens of seniors planned on spending $20,000 to rent a house in the Hamptons for an after-prom party. But Edward Lawson said that, in his case, the prom is not leading to financial irresponsibility.

"Financial irresponsibility, I believe, lies with the parents and the student," he said. "I don't believe that Kellenberg has any right to tell anybody what to do with their own money. We work hard for what we have. We pay tuition for that school. It's our hard work that pays to keep that school open."

How much money has he spent on each child who has previously gone to the prom?

"I couldn't give you a number, but I'll tell you what it is," he said to co-anchor Hannah Storm. "I'll tell you it's a limousine that they split the fee with a couple of kids. For my son, it's a tux and the corsage for his date. My daughters had reasonable dresses, nothing outlandish. That, to me, is just prom. I don't think that's what Brother Ken said is financial decadence."

The school is working with students on a compromise.

"They originally talked about moving the prom to the night before either graduation or graduation practice," Robert Lawson said, "because if you don't show up to practice, you're not allowed to walk, which I thought was understandable. We'd have our prom, the next day show up to practice."