After never making it to her own high school prom, an Alabama woman was delighted to accept her grandson’s invitation to his own one – only to be refused admission by the principal for being too old.
Catherine Maine, 69, took up the offer made by her 18-year-old grandson Bryce to attend his dance at Eufaula High School after he painted a canvas banner with the word “Prom?”
“I just thought, well, it’s just so nice that he wanted me to go,” Catherine told local media. “I kept asking him, ‘Don’t you want to take someone else?’ But he kept saying, ‘No, I want my Nanny’.
“So I was just so shocked, privileged that he asked me,” she added.
“My grandma is the most important woman in my life and she’s never had a prom before so I figured why not let her go with me,” Bryce said.
“Every woman deserves to go to a prom, no matter how old you are.”
Upper age limit
In preparation for the April 8th formal, the Alabama grandmother purchased a new evening gown to wear on the night, drawing attention from all over the town as word spread of her plans to attend. But when the news reached the school, Catherine was officially barred from going to prom.
When many dismiss our seniors, this young person is embracing one to make her dream come true, he should be applauded. #LetNannyGoToProm
— Lorrie (@sliklas87) March 30, 2017
In a statement made to the Fox News, Eufaula City Schools principal Steven Hawkins said that all of those attending the rite-of-passage dance must be aged 20 years or younger, and that there could be no special case made for changing the rules for Maine.
“Safety of students and staff is the first and most important of the many tasks of a school administrator. For the 10 years I have been high school principal, we have denied requests each year from students asking to bring older dates to prom,” Hawkins said.
“We do not chance leaving any stone unturned when it comes to safety. Most high schools have an age limit for prom attendees,” the principal added.
Alternate plans
Reacting to the news, Bryce Maine said the school told him his grandmother had been banned from the prom because of alcohol, “in case, you know, she was trying to distribute it to minors.”
After the decision was made by the school, Sarah Catherine Murphy, another grandchild of Catherine Maine, took to Facebook to vent her frustration, rallying support under the hashtag #LetNannyGoToProm.
Despite her post being shared more than 4,700 times, the school principal has yet to change his mind. As such, Bryce and Catherine Maine have had to make alternate plans.
“She’ll wear her gown and I’ll put on my tuxedo and we will get all dressed up, go out to a fancy meal, and have our own prom,” Bryce Maine said.
