Alex Carr's The Jaguars' Spot column for Wed., Mar. 03, 2010

It’s okay to get fresh at THIS dance!

This coming Friday just might be one of your best days at VCHS because the school is holding its annual Sadie Hawkins dance. This is one of the best dances of the year because it’s just generally a ton of fun. That’s right. 2,000 pounds of fun!

Every year, Sadie’s has a unique theme which determines kind of clothing students wear to the dance. Unlike prom, you would look out-of-place if you wore a suit or a dress to Sadie’s, and that’s a lot of what makes it so special. For example, last year’s theme was Revenge of the nerds and everyone came dressed up like nerds (Escondido stores were sold out of pocket protectors for WEEKS!). This year’s theme is “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Block Party” and everyone is encouraged to come dressed with their freshest Will Smith hip urban look (hint: wear baseball cap, but turn it AROUND!).

I talked with ASB supervisor, Rob Gilster, last week about Sadie’s. “The ASB has been preparing Sadie’s for many weeks,” he said. “We want every student to attend. Sadie’s is just as much fun with a group as it is with a date.”

Gilster’s would pass the polygraph on that one, guys. I went last year with about ten of my friends and it was one of the most fun nights of my life.

Just remember that VCHS dress code applies at Sadie’s, just like it will apply for the rest of your life. I don’t have to tell you; you guys KNOW what is appropriate. As a general rule of thumb, don’t wear things that reveal ... other things.

Another little rule VCHS throws in there is the wristband rule. At the beginning of the night, everyone is given a wristband. If you are caught “dancing dirty” (you know, stuff like grinding) you’re singled-out and have your wristband cut and you get to call your parent and tell them how special you are! Get caught doing the dirty one more time and you’re kicked out. At previous dances, admin had said that if more than about 12 wristbands are cut then the lights would be turned up for the rest of the night bright enough to give everyone in the room sunburn. I haven’t heard anything like that for Sadie’s this year, but lets just play it safe -- and avoid melanoma in our later years!

Although it seems like the rules could really minimize the potential level of fun for the night, they really aren’t that bad. It is pretty easy to still have a great time while staying out of trouble. Buy your tickets for this Friday now at the cashier’s window for $15, or $13 with an ASB card.

Tell me about it!:

Last week I told my math teacher Mr. Reidy about a really impressive internet site called Khan Academy that has over 1,000 ten-minute videos on everything from chemistry to calculus to banking to economics to ... you name it.

Each video explains its concept in a way that you WILL understand, I guarantee. Hundreds of thousands of students all over the world are hooked on Khan Academy and many say it has changed their academic lives. Mr. Reidy didn’t know about the site and loved it, so he immediately showed it to all his classes.

Check out www.khanacademy.org for yourself and see how revolutionary it is. Parents, MAKE your kid check it out. You’ll thank me (but, please, no kissing in public!).

Got a great item for this column? Tell me about it! Catch me on campus or go to my web page and shoot me an e-mail (www.carrfamily.com/alex).

Read all of San Diego Press Club award-winner Alex Carr's columns at www.carrfamily.com.