High school seniors at a school in Albuquerque have voted to hold a “Communism-themed” prom this spring.
The smart aleks who dreamed this up are enjoying nationwide attention today — just as they planned it. They are calling the event “prom-munism,” so it’s not likely a reflection of their brainwashing by left-wing educators but rather an indication of the time honored tradition of high school kids acting subversively in order to get a rise out of the adults.
They’re calling it “prom-munism.” Seniors at an Albuquerque school want their prom to have a Communism theme. Seniors at Cottonwood Classical Preparatory School near I-25 and Paseo del Norte voted online this week for the theme of their prom this year.
“They wanted prom-munism, so that’s what got voted for the most,” said senior Sarah Zachary.
She voted for “A Night in the Reef,” because the prom is expected to take place at the Albuquerque Aquarium on April 25.
“We have a lot of jokesters in our grade, so they wanted it to be funny and a lot of them are really intense with politics,” Zachary said.
However, students who asked to remain anonymous don’t believe Communism is a joking matter.
“I would hope Cottonwood would realize the seriousness of having a very powerful and destructive idea as the theme for a prom,” one student wrote.
Another said, “While the seniors meant no harm in their choice of theme, it is not appropriate.”
“Our students are in the International Baccalaureate program, so they are very academically focused,” said Sam Obenshain, executive director at Cottonwood. “One of the classes they enjoy the most is a world history class.”
Obenshain said, despite the vote, this is not a done deal. He said he plans to talk with the students about it next week.
“We want to make sure we honor the students’ voices but at the same time we use this as a learning experience for them,” Obenshain said.
At this point, he and many students aren’t even quite sure what “prom-munism” is supposed to look like.
“I honestly don’t think it’s that funny,” said Cole Page, a sophomore.
I wonder what the reaction of the executive director would have been if the students had voted for a “KKK-themed” prom or a prom based on an al-Qaeda theme. You can find any number of murderous ideologies to develop a theme around to decorate a prom. And ideologies don’t get much more murderous than Communism.
These are obviously smart kids who know a hot button issue when they see it. But every single one of those kids was born after Communism had largely disappeared and the brutality of Communist regimes had been mostly forgotten. Do they even know about the Gulags? Are they aware of the Chinese Cultural Revolution? Does the name Stalin mean anything to them?
My guess is that their “World History” course either glossed over the atrocities committed in the name of advancing international socialism or they learned a sanitized version of this history. You can bet they didn’t learn about the “shared scarcity” of Communist countries or that they probably would have had to wait years to purchase a phone or an iPad. If they had, they would have dropped any silly, romantic notions of Communism quicker than you can say “smart phone.”
Irreverence and committing subversive acts is part of being a teenager. We get it. But school administrators should step in and squash this noxious idea immediately.
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