Dear Cecil, I understand your opinion on this appeal and you are not wrong. I too have experience that matches yours, having gone both to a school and college that had rich kids who made up more than half of the student body and I underwent personal agony when I was called for events, being a popular guy, and chose not to go when I felt I could not match the spending that was called for. But that agony was only temporary and I moved on to participate in what I could afford.
The prom is not a life and death ritual that you can't miss it because you can't fund it, except when you have created for yourself a superficial value system that sadly many young folk have fallen prey to. It is an important event in North America but not one in which a student would have to ask for funds to go to. Americans (and Canadians to a lesser extent) are charitable folk and if they even got a whiff of the needs of the student needing money for the prom, would have done several things to meet that need. The class would have raised funds, the school participated, individual students would have chipped in and neighborhood organizations would have quickly responded financially. The idea is to have fun and celebrate your school experience, not to have poorer kids left behind with sadness trailing them. Not to mention how the average kid works as many hours as they can, in restaurants, fast food and other student-employing minimum wage places to save for the event. I have a relative whose 16 year old worked as a waitress in a restaurant in Silver Springs MD for an entire summer and made enough in wages and tips to buy herself outright (no exaggeration), a new little Honda sports car even if low end. The average dinner for four costs about $250 and tips are routinely 20 to 25%. The students in some rich schools can be very snotty. A brand name gown and shoes could set you back a thousand dollars. There is the limo to and fro and the cost of the hotel suites where the night after the dance is spent and expenses on food and liquor. And there is the pub crawling that goes on post-party. I am only saying this because you asked what the expenses could be and not in justification of the appeal. You were right in saying that the girl asking for the funds might get wrong expectations in the future. I also noted that it was not Goa Sudharop that thought it appropriate to make the appeal on its own but that the girl involved asked for it. Nevertheless I have faith that the GS team have weighed all the circumstances and found extenuating ones before making the appeal. The fact that we are only slightly enlightened on the appeal's merits does not mean that we know all that they do. George could have made a more convincing case though. Roland. Toronto. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Cecil Pinto Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2012 3:26 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Goanet] Appeal for assistance to go to prom Dear George, I find your appeal intriguing. What exactly are the expenses involved in going to a high school prom that warrants a public appeal such as this? It is frivolous to appeal for such a cause. There are many events that are similar to this 'coming-of-age high school ritual'. Will more such appeals be made for her to participate in all these rituals?
