Miss America Defends Student Suspended for Asking Her to Prom

Last Thursday, the current Miss America, Nina Davuluri, was set to visit Pennsylvania's Central York High School. Her purpose, as the first-ever Miss America of Indian descent, was to spread a message of diversity. But student Patrick Farves had a different purpose in mind, and planned on utilizing the beauty queen's presence at his school's assembly to secure himself the holy grail of all prom dates -- Miss America herself. When administrators heard rumors of Farves' plan, they warned him not to follow through with what would undoubtedly be a major disruption, but by that time, as Farves' told Reuters, "my mind was already set. I was already in the zone." During the assembly, Farves, plastic flower in hand, approached Ms. Davuluri and asked her to be his date to prom, after which the crowd of students dissolved into laughter and cheers. The school's administration, however, was less than amused and assigned Farves a three-day suspension. Farves has accepted his punishmend and even admits regret at having taken the spotlight away from Ms. Davuluri's important speech, saying, "She was trying to get across a very strong message - about how it's not about your beliefs or the color of your skin, but who you are." But while Farves has accepted his fate, Miss America has made it clear that she harbors not a shred of ill will toward the bold, enamored teen, and has even made attempts to intervene on his behalf. "I was flattered by the gesture, although I am unfortunately unable to attend due to my travel schedule," Davuluri said in a statement posted to the pageant's Facebook page. "I later learned of the disciplinary action taken and reached out to the school in hopes that they will reconsider their decision," she said. School officials, it seems, were unmoved, and issued a statement on Central York High's Facebook page, defending their decision to suspend Farves. "It is not our practice to discipline a student for asking someone - even Miss America - to a school dance," the statement said. "However, it is our practice to set expectations for student behavior, to communicate those expectations and rules to students and families and to ensure those rules are followed within our schools." So take heed, misbehaving high schoolers with dreams of disruptive displays of bold affection -- not even Miss America herself can save you from the iron hand of school-mandated justice.

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Miss America Defends Student Suspended for Asking Her to Prom

Elizabeth S. Mitchell

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Elizabeth S. Mitchell