Don’t expect to hear The Pinkprint at this year’s Prom.

Even the clean version.

The administration has sent a reminder to coaches that the music policy bans songs with explicit language.

“If there is an explicit version of a song, you can’t even play the clean version of that song,” Athletic Director Dan Vosnos said.

When students sang out the explicit lyrics of a song at this year’s Turnabout, administrators decided to better enforce the music policy.

“They played ‘I Don’t —- With You’, and the DJ, like, got in trouble for it, and they couldn’t play any songs with cursing in it,” junior Destiny Watson said. “And everyone was pretty upset because after that, the music was very bad.”

The Prom playlist will be looked at with a closer eye, according to Assistant Principal Craig Fantin. Any song with an explicit version won’t be played because “the potential is there for the kids to replace the clean lyrics with the profane ones,” he said.

Vosnos said that this could potentially cause problems for some school activities, but the school is focusing on “what’s best for our kids and our community.”

“There’s certain music out there we know kids listen to nowadays; we just want to make sure that it’s appropriate,” he said.

Dean David Klawitter says Prom will still be a fun event for students, even with these music policies in place.

“Why wouldn’t it?” Klawitter said. “I think it will be equally as successful.”

But senior Kaylen Luna disagrees. He says it will change the atmosphere of  Prom.

“I just think it defeats the purpose of the clean song. There’s no point in having a clean version if we can’t play it. That’s the point of having a clean version,” Luna said. “I’m really looking forward to Prom, and now it’s going to kill it. It was going to be the high point of my senior year, and now I’m just really depressed.”

The junior class student government is planning Prom. High on that list: the playlist.

Junior Secretary Andriana Stephens says the musical policy is being enforced more than usual because the songs are becoming increasingly inappropriate.

“I think that the people that are choosing these songs are going to have a hard time because all of the ‘in songs’ have a lot of profanity and references to drugs,” Stephens said. “Maybe they’ll play some throwbacks or something, but I don’t think it will be anything the students will love.”

The Prom committee is continuing to advocate for these songs, she said.

The policy goes beyond Prom and will affect other school functions – sports included. Poms, for example, cannot use songs with explicit lyrics.

Stephens, who is also a three-year cheerleader, says this may negatively affect the mood at sports events.
“I think we all try to incorporate some of the newer songs that will get the crowd and student sections involved in our performances,” she said. “I think it will just, like, bring down the excitement before the game or the excitement of halftime if the songs aren’t up to date.”

Stephens says even though the students may not be too fond of these regulations, the coaches won’t be too upset.

“They get paid for what they do, so they have to follow the rules,” she said. “If the rule is that we can’t do it, then they have to go with it. It’s just, like, for our best interests.”