Community Corner

Branford Law Firm Offers Free Services to Prom Kid James Tate

Connecticut teenager is pleased with community support and plans to meet up with his would-be date after the big dance.

Twitter loved him. Facebook swarmed him. National TV courted him.

Yet for , the shy Connecticut high school senior whose creative prom proposal ultimately led to a , the massive that followed his suspension is a lesson in the power of community involvement and presents an opportunity to improve dialogues between and families.

Faced with a definitive “No” from administrators and despite legislators, alumni and lawyers working on his behalf, the18-year-old from Shelton, Conn., told Patch Friday that he’s not planning to attend the June 4 event. 

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“I have accepted that I most likely will not be attending the Shelton High School prom,” Tate said. “In reality, it’s only four hours or so, three or four hours of a night and most of the high school experience isn’t just the dance. Most of my friends got suspended anyway.”

That happened after last Friday, when Tate and some friends taped the question “Sonali Rodrigues, will you go to prom with me?” to surprise his prospective date and be a neat talking point for the day. She said “Yes,” but he also earned an in-school suspension for trespassing triggering an automatic ban from prom.

Find out what's happening in Branfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

With the help of Facebook and Twitter, the overnight captured a national spotlight for Tate. In the past week, he has appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel and Today shows. A Shelton high alum formed an alternative event to be held June 4, “The James Tate Senior Prom 2011,” whose supporters reportedly include Pepsi, Red Bull and an area Hyundai dealership.

Tate himself quickly became the darling of social media. Micro-blogging giant Twitter, as “#TeamTate” began trending. A“Let James Tate Go to the Prom” Facebook page created Tuesday night now has more than 170,000 supporters.

Branford-based law firm, Evanko & Associates, LLC offered to file an injunction on Tate’s behalf pro bono. Robert Evanko, business manger paralegal with the firm has been contacted by Tate supporters as far away as Washington, Hawaii and Nebraska, as well as NBC in New York.

“My own personal reaction is that it brings up memories of watching ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ with the ‘Save Ferris’ movement,” Evanko told Patch.

The was created by 25-year-old Christian Iannucci, a 2004 Shelton High School grad and Boston resident who knew Tate slightly when he heard the news of the prom ban. According to Iannucci, a core group of Sheltonians and their friends are behind the alternative prom idea, including: Matt Hartke, a Hawaiian musician who created the folk song on the alternative prom website’s music page; Mike Biculco, a Microsoft engineer who created Facebook widgets for the page; Joshua Bednarsky, founder of the Anaheim Film Festival, who is running all Twitter feeds; and Daniel Andrew, a Harvard University graduate who is handling purchases of all T-shirts and created logos and banners for the website.

Tate himself described the alternate prom as a nice gesture.

“But I just feel like it wouldn’t be all that much fun for myself because it wouldn’t be the same without all my acquaintances there and to see everybody, all the familiar faces,” he told Patch. “ If it’s not a regular high school prom then people miss out on the high school prom experience and turn into more of a party type thing and instead of a romantic dance.”

Tate’s would-be date, Rodrigues, is attending with a girlfriend, he said.

“I’ll take pictures with her before and then hang out with her afterwards,” he told Patch. “I believe she is going with another girl, who was going with one of my friends that got suspended.”

Tate said he supports the community’s rallying around him, as well as an inchoate effort from a Shelton representative in the state legislature to so that Tate can attend prom.

“I think that it [community support] is great,” Tate said. “I feel like families need more of a say in their child’s punishment. Because if a child is punished so extensively, and frequently, they will grow to resent the school. But if teachers and the parents can come to a compromise, that’s in the best interests of the students.”


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