Prom season will soon be here, but students already are gearing up for all of the trappings that surround this major event in their school and social lives, starting with the promposal.

It is also the time that school administrators are faced with unconventional requests concerning dates, attire, decorations, prom royalty eligibility, drinking and a hundred-and-one other potential pitfalls.

Marian and Panther Valley high schools administrators have decided that their students cannot attend the proms with students from the other school who were involved in a fight between students from the two schools during a basketball playoff game last month.

Panther Valley Superintendent Dennis Kergick said three Marian students who were charged after the fight will not be allowed to attend the Panther Valley prom, while Marian officials agreed that three Panther Valley students charged will not be allowed to attend the Marian prom.

The ruling does not affect other students who were not involved in the fight, which is a good thing, because why should all be penalized for the crimes of the few?

But sometimes this blanket verdict does occur, and it is just not fair. It reminds me of some of my elementary school teachers who would punish the entire class for the sins of one or two students. It was as if we were responsible for making sure that our classmates stayed out of trouble.

The same is true in the professional field. Sometimes when a few employees do not follow company policies, instead of penalizing just the offenders, officials mandate new rules which inconvenience everyone.

Administrators across the country will tell you that prom season and other end-of-year activities are times of high anxiety. They are often asked to make Solomon-like decisions, which displease one side or the other. Here is an example of some of the prom incidents administrators have had to deal with over the years, and not always in an enlightened way:

• A 17-year-old Nazareth High School senior and his 13-year-old girlfriend were barred from his prom because of the age difference, even though both of the students’ parents approved of their attendance.

• At Archbishop Ryan Catholic High School in Philadelphia, female students must have their prom attire approved in advance by the school administration; no such approval is required for male students.

• Aniya Wolf, a student at Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg always wore pants to school, and, wanting to be herself, decided to wear dark pants and a bow tie to her prom. Several days before the prom, the school sent an email reminding families of the dress code for the prom: Girls could not wear pants. Wolf wore a suit anyway and was sent home.

• At Ankeny (Iowa) High School, a number of its students were denied entry to the prom because they did not have the proper identification. Although the students were told they could use certain forms of ID, they found when they presented one of them that it was no longer considered valid because the school had changed the requirements following the Parkland, Florida, school shootings and failed to communicate adequately the changes to the students.

• A junior at Tremper High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was barred from running for prom king because of his gender identity.

• Joel Lerner and Carter Hebert, a gay couple at Chattahoochee High School in Johns Creek, Georgia, were told by Fulton County School officials that although they were nominated, they can’t be considered for prom king because of their relationship.

• Female students attending Boylan Catholic High School in Rockford, Illinois, have to comply with the school’s 21-page dress code forbidding “excessively tight dresses” and rules such as this one: “The neckline of a dress, top or gown must be cut in a modest way without showing cleavage. Spaghetti straps or strapless dresses are allowed, as long as they are not low cut.”

• Shatara Shorter, 16, a student at Northeast High School in Oakland Park, Florida, was prohibited from attending her prom because she got her hair done on school time. The prom was held on a school night, so the girl left school early to make sure that her hair, nails and makeup were done in time for the big event. She showed up at the prom with her date, Quaedae Robinson, but was told that while Robinson was welcome to enter, she was not because she had broken a school rule which reads: “Students must attend half of the classes on the day of an activity in which they want to take part unless they have been excused or exempted from class by the school administration in advance.”

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com