Brownsville Students Suspended for "Harlem Shake" Video

First of all, I may be but a babe at the tender age of 23, but I'm quite out of touch with pop culture's shenanigans. I don't even have cable, guys--willingly. I'm in danger of becoming Harold Weird, my love of loud rock music aside.

My point is I just figured out what the hell "Harlem Shake" is, like, yesterday. And just in time, too! Because 13 Brownsville High School students are suspended for two days after making their own video of it.

Seems a bit harsh, especially for a dance video. I'm sorry, but I didn't realize Footloose was based on Brownsville High School.

Kevin Bacon, come liberate the children!

In case you haven't noticed, I only know one Footloose.

Okay, maybe the kids shouldn't be making dance videos in class. But it was photography class. Now, I'm not discounting the arts here, but you know what I did in photography class? While the teacher was in the dark room helping students develop film, the rest of us were supervised by a teacher during their prep period. My friends and I did homework on occasion, but usually we watched Freaks and Geeks on a portable DVD player or played board games. I bet most of those kids signed up for photography hoping for a blow-off class anyway. And this was done with the approval of a substitute teacher! Surely a verbal reprimand would've been sufficient, even for just the "graphic" parts of the video. Although if you think that's graphic, you've never seen a high-school dance, and you've especially never seen a Catholic high-school dance. Best of all, the kids haven't actually been told why they're being suspended, and administration won't say.

Even the Morning Freak Show weighed in.

What's the deal with Brownsville these days, anyway? First they punish a girl for not reciting the Pledge of Allegiance--which is he prerogative to do--and now this. Get it together! Prioritize! Fight real battles! I'm with Mikey and Big Bob--the kids just wanted to dance, and we should let them.

LET'S DANCE!