Now we know why "Footloose" was filmed in Utah - and why a friend of mine told me that, in some Utah towns, the movie is a documentary.

Bountiful High School has instituted new "Dance Participation Regulations" that strictly limit what teens can do and wear at school dances. To quote from the Salt Lake Tribune article by Ben Fulton:

The regulations prohibit not just "vulgar, seductive, or inappropriate movements" known as "freaking" or "grinding," but also any attire that might lead to that kind of behavior. That means no clothes deemed too tight, short, low-cut or anything stationed lower than the shoulder blades. Straps on dresses for formal dances must be at least two inches wide - spaghetti straps are banned - and sheer fabric is off-limits.
Off-limits for guys is any clothing deemed "slovenly" or worn "for protest, defiance, dissent, or displays obscene, illegal substances, or suggestive words or pictures," according to the regulations.

The wording here is nakedly oppressive. Is it against the rules to wear a T-shirt saying "Question Authority" or "U.S. Out of Iraq"? How afraid are we that our children might be thinking for themselves?

The regs received mixed reviews from students, but a big thumb-down from the Tribune's editorial page on Sunday: "We believe that is a naive, dictatorial and, possibly dangerous approach. ... What such rules promote are smothering conformity and Draconian, discriminatory judgments. They might also encourage students who feel stifled to throw their own, unsupervised, come-as-you-are parties."

And don't our underpaid, overworked schoolteachers and administrators already have enough to do without assigning the role of thought police?