Let’s be clear: this is not a “Footloose” petition wanting to ban dancing altogether. This petition is aimed at addressing a style of dancing known as “grinding”.

When children grind, a boy approaches a girl from behind by rubbing his genitals into her buttocks. She in turn responds by grinding back, as both partners move their hips in a circular or figure eight motion. While grinding, the girl may bend forward to put her hands on the floor, bringing her genitals in more direct contact with the boys’. Sometimes a girl initiates grinding on a boy. Teens tend to grind in a tight crowd, with the raunchiest grinding taking place at the center of the crowd.

After sending our 14 year old, freshman daughter to her first Homecoming dance, she came home traumatized from her experience.We were horrified to learn from her and her friends that a large group of her peers, fellow students, were grinding in the center of the dance floor. She and her friends mentioned seeing used condoms and condom wrappers on the floor as well as uninvited, inappropriate touching. After polling our daughter, her peers, and speaking with fellow parents, we learned that most students had already decided that they would not be attending the dance the following year.They will just NOT go next year. Does that solve the problem? What happens to next year’s freshman class when they go to their first Homecoming dance? At our daughter's dance, parents were not allowed to be in the room where the kids were dancing. Supervision was left to teachers and private security. While some high schools in the county have tried to deal with this issue, there is no county-wide policy on grinding. Would an all county policy make it easier for our school administrators to deal with this issue? YES!Should this policy include zero tolerance for grinding and other illicit behaviors?YES!For now, kids who do not want to participate in this grinding style of dancing at future dances opt not to go because they do not want to be touched inappropriately. They do not feel safe in their own schools. That is heartbreaking.

Follow the links below to learn more about the grinding in schools:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/growing-friendships/201302/they-call-dancing

http://www.seniorreligion.com/principals_policies.htm

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/10/24/high-school-makes-students-sign-contracts-promising-they-wont-twerk-or-grind-at-homecoming-dance/