Banning the prom could hurt prom industry

NEW YORK, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- After two Roman Catholic high schools in New York canceled their proms, there are concerns in the prom industry the idea may be gathering steam.

Brother Kenneth Hoagland, head of Kellenberg High School, said he canceled the prom because of what he called the decadent "prom culture" -- alcohol, sex and materialism run amok -- reported the New York Times Saturday.

"Common parlance tells us that this is a time to lose one's virginity," Hoagland wrote in a letter to parents. "The prom has become a sexual focal point. This is supposed to be a dance, not a honeymoon."

Hoagland has been flooded with interview requests from all over the world. However, some fear that the $2.7 billion prom industry might suffer if the idea takes hold.

George M. Kapalka, a professor of psychological counseling at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J., says "just say no" policies don't work. He says it would be better to talk with children about such issues when they are young, than to wait until they are seniors in school or ban proms.