You’re on the dance floor, getting your freak on with a member of the opposite sex, when suddenly you are torn apart from each other by what seems to be a flash of lightning. Really it was a flashlight shone by a chaperone who happens to be your third period teacher. You brush it off and continue dancing, but the awkwardness still looms heavily in the air.

This type of encounter has become more and more frequent at school dances. Administration is struggling to keep up with the demands of the district and concerned parents in regard to dance conduct and what is notoriously known as “freak dancing,” the act of moving one’s pelvic area against another person’s in rhythm to the music. Garfield got involved in the controversy later than some Seattle schools, which had already started trying to prevent freaking at dances. In fact, until the most recent dance, it seemed that our administration saw preventing it at all as a lost cause.

As I stepped foot in the Exhibition Center, ready to get my freak on, it was apparent that some things were different this year. First was Ms. Butler holding a basket of glow sticks at the entrance. Strange. It’s not like our school to go out of their way and spend money on something they don’t have to. She held the basket out towards me and offered me one. I told her, “No thanks,” and she moved the basket closer to me, giving me the you-don’t-have-a-choice look. Fine, I’ll take your little glowing tube, even though I recognize it as a ploy to easily track students and a keep a better eye on the ways we dance.

I walked into the dance hall and was immediately surrounded by the usual mass of gyrating people. A few chaperones, usually a few curious parents, walk around. But on closer inspection there were not only parents among the group, but also several teachers. Appalling. It’s weird for most students to even imagine that teachers have lives outside of school, much less see them at social events. However, their presence was not all that shocked students. The teachers and parents were given the task of trying to stop freak dancing, armed with flashlights and tones of disapproval. They took their job seriously, coming in from all directions, (including from above) in an effort to stop the inappropriate dancing. The most common response from students seemed to be a laugh in the face or a quick glance away.

While it’s the school’s responsibility to enforce district rules, this dance took it too far. Students and teachers are kept fairly separate from each other outside of school for a very good reason; neither group knows how to act around the other when not in a school environment. The teachers are too caught up in reprimanding and enforcing, while the students are still used to being defiant and acting out. Aside from how difficult it is for both groups to be around each other, it creates tension when they are at school. Some may find themselves asking, “Will my teacher think of me differently after this?” It’s more than likely that the answer is yes, particularly if you had a confrontation with them, or if you were slobbering on an underclassman. These are only a few of the dozens of reasons why a chaperone might, or in some cases should, look down upon you when you waltz back into the classroom. The only time they get to see their students is at school, so the dance becomes a way to pass judgment on how the students generally act. Without a doubt, if most students sat in on a teacher’s social event, it would be extremely uncomfortable for both parties.

Chaperones play an important role in school dances and all school-sanctioned events. Somebody has to sacrifice his or her evening to be there and make sure nothing too bad goes down. But it isn’t right that these are the people we have to sit in front of when we come in on Monday. However amusing it may be to watch the teachers try and break up couples dancing, this policing crossed the line.