MARK SMITH MORE COLUMNS Advertisement

The graduation of 222 Pahrump Valley High School students was a noteworthy event.

Alas, the subsequent grad night party fell flat on its face.

The problem was essentially based on an invitation that, read carefully, contradicted itself, and then based on a coordinator who simply made a bad situation that much worse by, one, turning words to mush and, two, being insufferably over-officious.

The invitation suggested that graduates "may bring a boyfriend / girlfriend," but that bringing "friends" was frowned upon.

Don't know about you but most "girlfriends" or "boyfriends" I've ever known were by all means the "friends" of their respective partners.

The invitation wandered off into the rank underbrush of the English language by stating further that the party was "for graduating seniors -- not for juniors and others who just want a cool party to go to. It ruins the idea and the fun for the seniors!"

In other words, "Listen up, you seniors, ve will tell you vat iss fun! And you vill like it or else!"

Yawohl, mein herr!

At the same time, farther down the page, it specifies, "ALL graduates will receive major prizes at this event."

Whether any graduates who were turned away received prizes is another question.

Now to be brief, the invitation was, at basis, an attempt to communicate something to a group of people, the PVHS seniors. But the communication was clearly faulty and left at least a few people in a state of confusion. Whoever was assigned to write the thing forgot that efforts to communicate have to be reasonably clear. The fact is that several grads were told by Lisa Holleman that they could not attend.

Why?

They had the nerve to be boys and to show up with boys and then draw back from going along with the "dates" shtick.

Is this your date?

Oh, no, we're just friends.

Sorry, get lost.

Ms. Holleman is apparently blissfully unaware of the fact that some males might have a tough time, even in fun, of pointing to a male buddy and referring to him as a "date."

I would too. So would a lot of men I know.

But of course, if they explained that the other guy was a friend ... well, whoa! You can't come in here, we don't want any "friends"!

(Now, to be sure, several girls showed up during the evening and agreed that one was the other's date. All, as far as we know, were admitted to the party.)

One young man, however, whose mom, to be sure, works for the Pahrump Valley Times, "decided that he did not want to attend ... and opted to 'hang out' at the Pahrump Nugget."

One assumes his "date" was also allowed in over there.

What most bothered me was during an interview with Channel 41's Selwyn Harris, when Ms. Holleman played word games and at one point admitted that she knew perfectly well the boys-with-boys were not "dates" in any normal social sense of the word.

Could it be that they were, gulp, just friends?

"My son did not attend this function and unfortunately he is going to remember his graduation night as the night that someone decided to play judge and jury and not let (him) attend something he was looking forward to," wrote the young man's mother.

And she's right.

He was turned away from something that should have been fun by a busybody who was insistent on altering what could have been a good time for all ("All right, go on in...") into a humorless disciplinary exercise.

In 2009, one hopes the school system would ensure that some common sense will manifest itself and no one will be barred from attending an after-graduation get-together, and that the rules -- not to mention the coordinator -- won't be so hidebound about it.

Of course, as will be seen elsewhere in this edition, one of our photographers -- graying and grizzled and nowhere near high school age -- was allowed in, and no one asked him about his "date." Maybe next year we can hand out press cards and ensure that everyone can go.