Quote:
Originally posted by justamom
1994
http://www.holysmoke.org/fem/fem0380.htm
For example, last spring a private high school in Chicago had two
proms -- one mainly attended by white students and the other mainly
attended by black students. The controversy arose when the
all-white prom committee was choosing songs. Each student could
vote for three songs, and the songs with the most votes would be
played at the prom. It turned out that many of the black student's
songs were not chosen.
The black students felt shut out by the decision-making process
based on majority rule. Guinier quoted one student as saying: "With
us being in the minority, we're always out-voted. It's as if we
don't count."
White students were hurt that their black peers were holding a
separate prom. They thought the black students were not playing by
the rules, namely the supposedly fair majority rule, Guinier said.
An alternative to the situation would be to give each student 10
votes to place on how ever many songs, reflecting the intensity of
their preferences. In this way, the black students could pool their
votes to hear some of their songs at the prom. So even if the
majority's favorite songs were played more often, the "songs that
the minority enjoyed would also show up on the roster."
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Good stuff!
That is possibly what happened. Although a "majority rules system" is completely fair, in the case of a prom, it might be seen as unfair to some.
For example, a prom, especially the senior prom, is a very big event (maybe the biggest) in teen life. And you spend a whole heck of a lot of time and money to get it just right. It is also possibly, the last time you will see the faces of the people from whom you never though you would ever be separated.
With such high hopes and $$$, wouldn't anyone want it be as enjoyable as possible? Now, if you are one who enjoys ALL types of music, then two proms are pointless. But, not everyone-- possibly a majority of people, are not like that. So, what's the point of spending all of this money for this big night if you are going to be sitting down bored for two-thirds of the night?
I do not support a "two-prom system" but I can see why it may have evolved.
Fr example, if you have an 80% Caucasian population and 50% of the songs played do not appeal to them, then the majority of the crowd will be sitting during the night so that you can appease the minority. Now, I don't know any DJ that likes to play music for hours for a sitting crowd.
It is impossible to please everyone, and who should sacrifice? And just how much?
Music may seem to be a trivial point, but music that you love and can sing along to goes a long way towards setting the mood for an enjoyable and memorable evening.