Freakin' out

Dickinson grad gets worldwide notice for stance on dance.

November 7, 2006

Charles Salter '81, now the principal at Aliso Niguel High School in Orange County, Calif., is shown here in his Microcosm yearbook photo.

Maybe the butterfly effect should be renamed the "freak dance" effect. After all, the action of one Dickinsonian, a principal who banned school dances, partly because of his students' freak (or suggestive) dancing, has created ripples of reaction around the world.

The butterfly effect postulates that the flapping of a butterfly wing might create tiny atmospheric changes that lead to a tornado. For Charles Salter '81, his butterfly was an e-mail sent to parents after a September back-to-school dance at Aliso Niguel High School in Orange County, Calif., where he has been principal for the last six years.

In the e-mail, he announced that all school dances were cancelled until further notice. This one action, which Salter viewed as an "in-house thing," exploded into press coverage around the world, including appearances by Salter on ABC's Nightline and Geraldo at Large.

What Salter had observed at the dance, he explains in a telephone call, was young women dressed inappropriately, alcohol use and "freak" dancing, where couples simulate sexual intercourse.

"I look at the students as if they were my kids. I wouldn't want my daughter dressing or dancing like that," explains the father of three, adding that he also wouldn't want his son treating girls that way.

The dancing and the other issues had been part of ongoing discussions that began last year with parents and students. The September dance was, as Salter candidly says, "The straw that broke the camel's back."

"The reason why administrators don't make changes is the uproar it causes; then they have to deal with the conflict," explains Salter. "I opened the door to do what needs to be done."

After studying history and theatre and dramatic literature at Dickinson, Salter moved to California to pursue a career in acting. Then he got married, had children, got divorced and became a single parent. He was getting acting jobs sporadically, but his children's needs were constant.

He'd done some substitute teaching and liked it. So he went back to college got his master's degree in education and his teaching certification and eventually went on to receive a doctorate. He's taught and been principal at schools, with socioeconomic statuses that varied from very high to very low.

He sees his liberal-arts background as one of the best choices that he made. Salter says he looks at the world differently than people whose college education focused on just one subject.

While at Dickinson, Salter admits that he didn't realize the value of the skills he was building. For example, as a member of Student Senate and various student organizations, he had to learn how to speak persuasively to groups. He also learned how to coordinate various constituencies when he ran Dickinson's Black Arts Festival, bringing to campus Benjamin Hooks, then head of the NAACP, and actor Ossie Davis, among others.

Getting along with people and creating relationships also was important, since he was one of seven African-Americans in the class of 1981. Salter learned to interact with people who were different from himself.

"I got along with a lot of people from different places, different walks of life," he recalls. "I grew up in a different environment [from most of the students]. I was from the projects in the Bronx [N.Y.]."

The relationships he created at Dickinson have lasted. When those Dickinson friends recently heard his name on the news, they made contact. Among them were Karin Holm '81 of Geneva, Switzerland, and Dickinsonians who live in Los Angeles.

While the media frenzy has swirled, Salter has been working diligently with parents and students to reinstate dances. The process includes a committee to create dance guidelines upon which parents, students and school administrators can agree.

Salter's decision has not universally heralded. Some parents were upset because the ban meant the Homecoming dance was cancelled.

"They want the kids to have the memories," he says.

He understands their concerns and lets them know that he cares about their children.

"When I see something happening to kids, I have to stop it," he says. "I spoke up. I made a difference."