Posted by Sam Richards
Michael McMillen, Constance McMillen's father, expresses his support of his daughter
Imagine canceling a prom so that a lesbian couple won’t attend. That’s so 1990s. And now this is the 21st century and life is quickly passing by the adults who stand looking backward to a time when things were so easy–before someone opened the closet doors. And yes, we’re living in a new world with new rules and new couplings…and young people who will show us once and for all that love knows no boundaries.
Read the article: Lesbian Teen in Prom Flap
Who is to say what should be allowed and what should not? It is sad that gays and lesbians cannot be happy because of society. It is sad how society makes judgments toward gays and lesbians for being who they really are just because they do not fit the description of a man and a woman couple. Gays and lesbians should not have to blocked their happiness just to please all of the ignorant and disrespectful citizens out there. It is such a shame. To hear that a prom was cancelled just to prevent lesbians from attendinf is so damn ridiculous that I cannot stand to bear it. The school is not only trying to punish the lesbian couple but they are also punishes others from enjoying a prom that is once in a lifetime. If it was that big of an issue to them, they could have prevented them from going rather than punishing every student from their prom. But does it really matter if the young lady went to prom with her girlfriend? I think it is such a stupid issue to begin with because, nowadays, girls are dancing all over their girl friends just trying to have a great time. What difference does it make if a girl could dance with another girl at prom compared to a lesbian couple being at prom? The only possible difference could be that the lesbian couple would kiss each other, but beside that, they would just dance as everyone else would be doing. This society just needs to learn how to accept gays and lesbians because, reality is, it exists now, it will exists tomorrow, and it will continue to exists in the future. There is nothing we could do to stop it. You cannot stop a person from being happy; it is unethical. And even if someone tries to stop it, they will not succeed. So, just let the couple be happy. Leave them alone, they are not bothering each anyone. Let them be happy. Yea people say that it is wrong for a man to be with a man and it is also wrong for a woman to be with a woman, but is it wrong to be happy? Is it really wrong do what makes you feel that you have happiness? No. The answer is no. There is nothing wrong with being happy. The school is wrong to take away prom from the lesbian couple, along with the rest of the students. It is definitely not fair to any of them. And why does the one girl have to wear a tuxedo? Not every school has to follow the tradition of a tuxedo and a prom dress paired up. The two of them could wear prom dresses if they like. It is not a big deal. The world is not going to come to an end.
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If it happened in other nations where the level of resistance regarding homosexuality was high enough, then I would not be surprised like this much. However, it was happened in the United States which protects the freedom and respects the law.
What I do not understand is that it was school board who actually canceled the event. If it was done by a private school, I would not complain this much. It is public system which has to protect students’ freedoms and rights even though there are stricter limitations than adult citizens have.
I cannot deny Ms. McMillen brining a same-sex date and wearing a Tuxedo to the prom which is not occurred frequently can be a unique situation. But, can we blame a prom participant for wearing a green suit or yellow shoes? I do not really think so.
I wish to talk about the punishment (or the sanction that was imposed on the article) as well. Cancelling the whole prom looks very cruel. As she had stated in the article, “As we learned from the first lecture, it is really hard to describe a race. I think asking one's race would cause confusion of identity if the study materials that we learned were considered.” I have to doubt the purpose of school board in making such decision. Some students may thank her for letting them to skip the event since they did not feel like to attend the prom, but majority of students, in my opinion, would think her the cause of this whole incident. I feel like it is school board’s strategy to give her some kinds of disadvantages because they opposed the idea of homosexuality. If we see the statement that school board made – “"private citizens will organise an event for the juniors and seniors"” – it became a little bit clearer. If an individual wants to invite another with same-sex as his or her date, school board will not do it. Come on. For seniors, it is their last memory in high school and should school board escape from holding the responsibility then put the burden to students? I mean, let’s think about it. Which groups of private citizens are most likely to organize such event for high school juniors and seniors? Well, big corporations and local businesses would donate some funding partly for their relations with local residents. However, it would be parents who would carry most burdens. Then, it became more complicated. There are some parents who would oppose to support for prom due to various reasons. It can be their financial situation or even the same reason that the school board had. The difference between school board and the parents is their status as ‘public branch of the government’ or as ‘private citizens.’ Hence, the parents who had belief of opposing homosexuality are not to be blamed as the school board.
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Part IV:
Some people may support the school's decision to retaliate against the lesbian because they believe the school is trying to maintain the values of society. People may be scared that homosexuals, would corrupt their children and turn them into homosexuals as well. People may also believe that homosexuals are simply perverts and therefore don't want them to be part of the society.
I personally believe that the real reason why people may support the school's decision is because of a lack of proper education toward homosexuals. If people knew more about who homosexuals are, their struggles and their beliefs, I honestly believe there would be less hostility towards them.
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Just when you think society has taken a few positive steps forward with the handling of equal rights, it seems to take a few giants leaps backward. I am still very perplexed as to why some people can't deal with the issue of people being gay or lesbian – at the end of day, we all breathe the same air and walk the same earth. Prom is a high school student's mecca. It one of their biggest moments in their young lives and something that they will most likely remember for the rest of their lives (granted they don't drink too much to the point of no recollection). For a school to cancel prom altogether because one lesbian couple was going to be in attendance? I don't know, but that doesn't seem to settle right with me for some reason. I think of myself in that girl's shoes and trying to feel the things she must be feeling. For one, she has to deal with the criticisms and prejudice of being a lesbian, and is now on the national news for being herself and for wanting to attend her high school prom. (The article was on BBC, so its more than national news at this point). I want to know what the rest of the student body thinks about the whole issue. I know I would be pretty damn pissed if my prom was canceled because of some injustice like not letting a lesbian couple attend. I wish the article had quotes from other students or teachers or the people who are running the school. It would be equally for the rest of the school to ridicule her or to outcast her solely because she was the reason their prom was canceled. For the mere fact that she was just being herself.
One like that made me stop and think twice was the last sentence of the article when she asked a teacher why it was so wrong for her to show up with her girlfriend, and she was told to remember where she was. She is in Mississippi. So what's the big deal? Why does it matter where she is, what state she is in or what town she is in. We all play by the same rules, using the south as an excuse for a ridiculous act isn't fair game. Its unfortunate that we live in a democratic nation, yet the school systems operate under a monarchy. The students are minors trapped in the system. Who says that the student body is in favor of her and her girlfriend attending prom? What if they didn't care one way or the other? Even if the majority of the student body was in favor of still having the prom go on as scheduled and didn't care if a lesbian couple was there, there isn't much they can do about it, which is a real shame.
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If it happened in other nations where the level of resistance regarding homosexuality was high enough, then I would not be surprised like this much. However, it was happened in the United States which protects the freedom and respects the law.
What I do not understand is that it was school board who actually canceled the event. If it was done by a private school, I would not complain this much. It is public system which has to protect students’ freedoms and rights even though there are stricter limitations than adult citizens have.
I cannot deny Ms. McMillen brining a same-sex date and wearing a Tuxedo to the prom which is not occurred frequently can be a unique situation. But, can we blame a prom participant for wearing a green suit or yellow shoes? I do not really think so.
I wish to talk about the punishment (or the sanction that was imposed on the article) as well. Cancelling the whole prom looks very cruel. As she had stated in the article, “As we learned from the first lecture, it is really hard to describe a race. I think asking one's race would cause confusion of identity if the study materials that we learned were considered.” I have to doubt the purpose of school board in making such decision. Some students may thank her for letting them to skip the event since they did not feel like to attend the prom, but majority of students, in my opinion, would think her the cause of this whole incident. I feel like it is school board’s strategy to give her some kinds of disadvantages because they opposed the idea of homosexuality. If we see the statement that school board made – “"private citizens will organise an event for the juniors and seniors"” – it became a little bit clearer. If an individual wants to invite another with same-sex as his or her date, school board will not do it. Come on. For seniors, it is their last memory in high school and should school board escape from holding the responsibility then put the burden to students? I mean, let’s think about it. Which groups of private citizens are most likely to organize such event for high school juniors and seniors? Well, big corporations and local businesses would donate some funding partly for their relations with local residents. However, it would be parents who would carry most burdens. Then, it became more complicated. There are some parents who would oppose to support for prom due to various reasons. It can be their financial situation or even the same reason that the school board had. The difference between school board and the parents is their status as ‘public branch of the government’ or as ‘private citizens.’ Hence, the parents who had belief of opposing homosexuality are not to be blamed as the school board.
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Its 2010 and we are really having this problem? When I first heard about this, the first thing that came to mind was in the movie Grease when they have their dance and Coach Calhoun reads the rules and says "All couples must be boy girl." This movie is set in the 50’s so it was not a shock when this statement was read aloud, it was more of a joke because people then would not have even thought to tell people they were gay. It is sort of bizarre to me that this is an issue in today’s day and age.
I think it is an awful thing that happened that since they did not know how to handle having a lesbian couple at a dance that they would completely cancel the whole dance and ruin it for everyone. I think the school should have just went along with it and let the couple go to prom. Cancelling the prom because of this creates prejudice in and of itself. It is showing to others that because these girls are gay, that’s bad, so we are going to shut down the prom. Kids who could have never had a problem with gay people before this, are now angry that their prom is taken away, and this has probably now caused them to think bad things about gay people in general.
I know one person that was completely appalled by this story was Ellen DeGeneres. I follow heron twitter because I love her, and she had a tweet up about how disgusting it is that this would happen, since she is obviously openly gay, I can see where her concern stems from. This is what Ellen had to say about it on her twitter. “I believe in everyone getting the same opportunities. Going to Prom's no different.” I completely agree with what she says and how she feels about it.
I went to an all girls catholic high school and for our prom a lot of girls took other girls. Of course they were not gay, or openly gay I guess for that matter. I wonder if there would have been any controversy if someone in our grade was outwardly gay and bringing a girl to the prom. I do not think they would have much to stand on since many other straight girls brought other girls to prom. If the other girl went to the school, they would buy their own ticket, so they would each not have to pay for their dates. At the same time, I went to a catholic high school, so technically they could have used the fact that it is against the bible and the catholic faith to be gay, which is why none of the girls were openly out in my high school. But this is a PUBLIC high school, which is what really surprised me.
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Reading this article made feel extremely sorry for this young girl, Constance McMillen. Not only is the school board out casting her, but also they are turning her schoolmates against her. There will be people who are going to get mad at her and not understand that she is not doing anything wrong by wanting to bring a female date. Not only is it not fair for this school to deny the entire school prom on behalf of this little issue, but they are making Constance feel like there is something wrong with her, when there is nothing wrong at all.
In my high school, there were three girls who were very open about being lesbians. Two of them were partners and the other had a partner at a neighboring high school. I remember when they all came to prom together, two of the females wearing tuxedos, and I clearly remember the comments that were made behind their backs, but NEVER were they denied to go. Obviously some high school students are going to immature and ignorant watching a female dressed up in a suit slow dancing with another girl, but for those of us that were fine with it like myself, I didn’t think twice about it. They didn’t ruin anyone’s prom night; they had their fun and went home like the rest of us. Also, it is by no means a big deal that she wants to wear a tux to prom. Just because you are a girl doesn’t mean you like to wear a dress! I know guys who showed up to my prom wearing blue and green tuxedos, and I found them a lot more distracting then the lesbian couple.
I was happy to read that to ALCU was intervening on this issue because the entire thing is a little outrageous and they should be annoyed that this event is being blown up into such a national news story. The ALCU should not stop until they work this issue out, because even though it seems like a stupid, insignificant event, it will be a huge step for them.
All in all, I feel extremely sorry for Constance McMillen, her family, and her partner when it comes to this article. She is being made feel as if something is wrong with her, when nothing is. She is probably extremely embarrassed when she has no reason to be because many schools across the country allow same sex couples to attend a high school prom. I don’t understand why the school board thinks it is going to make people so uncomfortable. Yes, like I said before when recalling my own prom, there will always being those rude and obnoxious people who don’t know any better or are just trying to be funny, but the younger generations are becoming a whole lot more liberal when dealing with these issues.
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The people, faculty and students around this school town are not highly educated in current culture and society. This will inevitably lead to some very bad press for not only the school but for the whole district in general. In addition to this, the article portrays this school as a public high school. If this school has no religious boundaries around it and it is solely a school for kids to attend who live around it, then that leads to even bigger problems. It shows that the school board can just get away with making decisions for the whole town and not keeping in mind the other opinions of the residents of the town. In addition to this, people should stand up to this issue because since it is a public school, they have an even bigger right to. Their tax dollars are going towards paying for their kid’s education and if they are allowing their hard earned money to be ruled by opinionated school board representatives, they have even more of a right to take a stand. It is not too difficult to raise money to put together a prom if everyone were to contribute. They could easily organize an event for their children to enjoy. Not only the parents, but the kids can help put up a fight against this.
I was also disturbed by the fact that a student was singled out in the article. They are referring to the student Constance McMillen as the issue for canceling the prom. Not only is it wrong to expose someone to the media but it is wrong to single them out in general. I would not have a problem with a legitimate reason to cancel a prom, but what type of message are we teaching kids when we show them we can cancel an entire event and also blame it on a person. It is teaching kids to not open their minds and eyes to other beliefs and values. We are in an age where people are beginning to be desensitized to issues such as these. I am not referring to desensitization as a bad thing but as a good thing. People need to understand that there are people in the world that do not believe in the “common” way of life and feel oppressed by society. If people were to open their eyes to issues such as these, we would not be running into problems like this. People will be a lot happier and a lot more pleased with the world around them today. They will get along more and will not feel so disconnected from the world. As there are increasing numbers of gay and lesbian couples in the world, people are going to have to adjust because it is already began to be a part of reality.
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This issue really gets on my nerve. I really do not see what the big deal is if the girl wants to bring another girl to prom or a guy with another guy to prom. We as Americans have a right to choose. I really do not understand what the big deal is because it is not really harming anybody. Sure it might cause a distraction to some that are at the prom but as we learned in class gay people are not flaunting that they are going out with with another girl or guy of the same sex it is just us who see them more noticeably. I could see how this could be the same issue about 50 years ago if a white man or women wanted to bring a black man to the prom. As this was looked down upon back then. Still as we learned from our mistakes last time what is the big deal? It seems like a lot of people just want to interfere with other peoples happiness and think about themselves. The decision to not only take the rights of the women who wanted to bring a same sex date to the prom as well as canceling the prom entirely because of the issues that it may cause is absurd. Along the way we all might be to blame for letting this happen. A lot of people have not yet accepted the gay community as a whole. Some, more then others, believe that they are superior and do not want to give everyone equal rights. I believe that if it makes you happy you should live with it and do not let anybody else change your mind. It's just as absurd as canceling the prom because a guy wants to wear a red tux. That would be a distraction to some but its the way of the person expressing themselves. In a way I could also seeing them taking their aggressions or whatever rebuttal they have with the girl on a personal level whether it be bringing her into the office or sitting her aside and just reasoning with her about how it is still not accepted in some societies or something giving her some sort of thought about why they did not want her to go with a same sex date. But instead they have to pull her out on the side and personally cancel the prom because of one individual (or two). Which does not make sense at all ,because that seems like the way that they would be teaching children in that school. That being gay is not right and the actions would cancel an event. What impression does this leave them with? To not accept the gay community? Let us get real and move on.
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Canceling a prom for this reason is very odd, however this problem is definitely in existence today. My high school would not allow female and female or male and male together either. I went to Bensalem School District located in Bucks County right outside of Philadelphia. It was not that we could not dance with each other, but when we signed up at the office and paid to get our tickets we had to write who are date was and if it was the same sex it was not allowed. We had one student that was very upset about this because it is definitely the most unfair thing. This caused a big commotion within the school, but was eventually let go. This has been school policy and you were not allowed to do it. You also were not allowed to go alone to the prom. You must have a date. I think that is stupid because the people that were gay wanted to go, but did not have a girl or guy to bring. For some, they either found a friend and brought them and some missed their prom because of this situation. This is another hump we need to get over to support gay and lesbian rights. This goes to show that at the school level this is not accepted and people are still being taught to hate against gays. Maybe not physically being told, but that says something when schools have rules like that.
Even someone above had a statement that they don't agree with homosexuality, but they still do not think they should be discriminated against. That is okay, it is ok to not agree with something, but as long as you do not discriminate against it just because you hate it is good!! What usually happens is that if you do not agree with something you will be against it totally, which I think is wrong.
Back to the article, by punishing everyone you get no where with anything. It makes people think that this is how the rest of their life is going to be. Why could they of not just taken her out and explained how this is not accepted here, rather then making everyone suffer. This is what really starts bullying and why guys are hated against for reasons like this. As I have been saying little things like this is what we need to change to make LGBT accepted within the community and beyond. School is a place for learning and were obviously being taught the wrong things!!
I am wondering if this is because administrators are in that older generation where they believe this is not acceptable. I know that years to come this will change. It is just a matter of time and when younger people get hired into these positions…. shit will change!! Everyone should be for gay rights.
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I don’t know why this doesn’t surprise me that this despicable action of discrimination took place not in a city or in a northern state but in the south. Even at the end of the article it mentions that the girl was told by her teacher to remember where she was. I suppose or I would at least assume from reading this that the LGTB community in southern parts of the country are even more hidden that we see up North and that’s sad. Sad for a girl who just wanted to attend her prom but was turned down by her school who is supposed to be teaching her right from wrong. I hope that this school learns from all the media and publicized attention that students should be free to choose who and what their sexual orientation may be. The key point here is “in and outside of school.”
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This article is very frustrating to me. I cannot believe that in today's progressive socitey, people, let alone young adults are being punished for their choice in their prom date's sex. Senior prom is supposed to be one of your best memories from high school. You are supposed to be able to let loose and have fun with your peers and the people you care about. If you choose to be "different" and take a nontraditional date, good for you. You should be able to enjoy it.
In the scheme of things, is it really that big of a deal?? We're talking about someone's affection and attraction toward another person, something none of us can control. Personally I think the girl in the slutty dress and the students drinking and doing drugs in the bathroom are a cause for much more concern. The school justified their actions by saying they didn't want the other students to feel uncomfortable. I know students at my prom who brought dates who were severe drug addicts or had been in jail- that makes me feel a little uncomfortable. But it was my senior prom and they had no effect on me- why should I have let it bother me? McMillen has just as much right as any other student to be at her senior prom- if other students don't feel comfortable, they can choose to ignore it since McMillen and her date of choice do not directly affect them, or they can choose not to attend.
I greatly admire McMillen for standing up for herself and what she believes in. Like she said, "A bunch of kids at school are really going to hate me for this." She is acting incredibly brave in this situation, more so than many people twice her age. She will more than likely be ostracized and outcast by people who see this issue as "her fault," rather than the fault of the close minded school board. Knowing that she will gain this reputation and still standing by her choice of sexual orientation makes her an incredible advocate for her cause.
I still do not completely understand people's strong aversion to homosexuality. I know many people cite the Bible and its "unnaturalness," but in the end, you cannot help who you are attracted to. I just have a hard time understanding why people would want to condemn others based on who they love.
This issue reminds me of the civil rights movement in the 1960's and 70's. Unfortunately, I think it is going to take more incidences and people like McMillen to bring about a change. But, like the civil rights movement, I think a gay and lesbian movement will have a similar effect.
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I think it is ridiculous that the school went as far as to cancel prom because of something that I consider to be a small issue. I feel that if the school had just sat this girl down and told her that they really wouldn’t approve of her brining a date of the same sex I’m sure she could have found a way around it. I know from experiences of a friend that there are pretty simple solutions to an issue of this magnitude.
In high school I was pretty good friends with two homosexuals, one being male and one female. They were both dating partners of the same sex, and everyone was aware of this. Being a prominent member of our class (class president, actually) the gay male knew he would not be able to bring his boyfriend to prom with him, and trying to change these rules would only cause more problems than were needed. What my friends ended up doing was going to prom with each other, and then their boyfriend and girlfriend went together. The only thing this mattered for was the buying of tickets and actual pictures at prom. Other than that, they were able to dance together with their own boyfriend/girlfriend along with spend the whole night together. Nobody said a word to any of them. It may be different in my school because they were definitely accepted as being gay and being who they are and not too many people had problems with it or would say anything.
I feel that if the gay couples had tried to go together there would have been issues. I think that the school who canceled their prom overreacted and deserves the media coverage that is being brought to it. Like I showed though, the girl could have approached it differently. After the school released the press release or whatever saying that same sex couples would not be allowed, they should have dropped it. A rule is a rule. Especially in high school where the administration is definitely the say all in pretty much all situations involving students and what they think is right.
Same sex relationships are still very touchy and taboo in our society. It is definitely more so in a high school environment as well than a college environment like we are in today. Homosexuals feel more free to express themselves and stand up for themselves in college than they did in high school, and because of this it will probably take a long time until we see prom photos of two girls dressed up holding hands taking pictures together. Until then we will hear about cases like these where students are all punished because administrations can not handle what they should easily be able to and make rash decisions based off of that.
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When I heard about what had happened with this Mississippi high school cancelling prom because of the “lesbian date”, I was utterly shocked – I really did not believe that this was happening in our day and age. Sure, I could see it happening years and years ago, but never today. I immediately began to wonder if there were legal ramifications that this school would encounter – I didn’t know if the high school was really allowed to cancel prom because of the “lesbian date” or if they were really allowed to distribute a memo prohibiting same sex dates. However, I thought this entire event with the high school banning the same sex date and the tuxedo was a really dumb move because Constance McMillen definitely has grounds to file a major lawsuit. Even if she does not file a lawsuit, the high school and school district will be scrutinized by the public (maybe not in that area, which is evident from what the teacher said, but definitely by more progressive and liberal areas of the country since this event is making national news).
The teacher told Constance McMillen “to remember where she was”, but the reality is that the South is part of America. Yes, the South is more conservative than other parts of America, but the South still has to abide by the same rules as the rest of the country and respect the constitutional rights of its inhabitants. I went to prom with my gay best friend (I always knew he was gay but he wasn’t out in high school), and I think it’s sad that if he had attended this Mississippi school he would have been forbidden to be who he is if he had chosen to attend prom with a guy whom he loved. However, I think that there were two girls at my high school who were pretend “dates” just because they didn’t feel like bringing an awkward date from another school whom they would have had to babysit, which I totally understand.
I also think it is absurd that Constance McMillen was prohibited from wearing a tuxedo to her prom. Sure, it is normally boys who wear tuxedos, but the dresses that some girls wear to prom or other school dances are completely ridiculous and provocative. Sometimes girls wear dresses that are so short they cannot even sit down because their dresses ride up, and other girls wear dresses that are cut out on the sides and have multiple slits up the bottom half while there is basically no fabric on the top half. Constance McMillen would have had her entire body covered while wearing her tuxedo, while other members of her high school would have been dressed classlessly. If the school wants to set a dress code that Constanc McMillen cannot wear a tuxedo, then they should also not allow girls to wear dresses that might as well be bathing suits.
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This story is a little ridiculous that the board says it’s a “distraction to the educational process”. The students are going to PROM there’s nothing educational about that. It’s a time to relax from all the work and have fun with your friends. No one goes to judge who comes into the prom with who. The girls are worried about looking good for their dates and the guys just want to drive nice cars into prom.
The American Civil Liberties Union gave the school enough time to change the rules about same-sex couples. Instead the punished the entire school and cancelled the prom. This isn’t fair for the other students who didn’t participate in wanting to take a partner of the same sex; basically, the majority of the school. I feel horrible because students are going to be mad at her when I don’t believe she did anything wrong. I think they should’ve just changed the rules and said she can bring a girl date. When I was in high school girls brought girl dates and nobody made a fuss about it. Everyone was worried about dancing and taking pictures the whole night. What confuses me so much is that gay marriages are accepted in society today but schools still have a problem with this.
This is also going to bring bad media to the school and they can’t point fingers at anyone because this was their decision. So, any negative media that comes from this is in their hands to resolve. She should’ve just showed up to the prom with another girl what would have they done then? Make her go home? Then the school has the nerve to say, “private citizens will hold an event for juniors and seniors.” What kind of shit is that? I hope the students understand she was just standing up for what she believed was right. The same thing anyone else would do if they were put into that situation.
At the end of this, I totally believe this whole situation could’ve been avoided. But instead of home of the free, it’s more like inaccuracy of freedom. I feel as though the girl could have gone to prom with anyone. What the hell it’s her moments so let the young lady shine. I wonder if not telling the school and just showing up. She would’ve been safe unless they cancel the prom when they find out lol.
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It is pretty absurd that this kind of discrimination still goes on today. It seems very unnecessary to cancel the prom based on two kids. Even if people are uncomfortable around gay couples they are going to have to deal with them at some point in life, so why not give them an opportunity to encounter it at a young age. In this day and age people are usually encouraged to come out of the closet and be themselves so why would you punish someone for trying to express their true self. We even have many TV shows that have gay characters, and movie stars that are gay. It is not very fair. The school should have come up with a better response than just canceling the whole event. It shows such a lack of respect for the whole community to do something like that. They have just made it so that they both had to wear dresses or something small like that. Although, I think it is also very offending that the school would try to control what the students are wearing to prom. Women dress in suits and things like that in the business world sometimes so why try and censor the kids when there are already people who do it. I would be very angry if I was student and I was not able to have a prom, but I would understand why the lesbian students would not just sit back and accept the discrimination. It is ridiculous.
One of their arguments was that some students felt uncomfortable around that couple. What if some students did not get along with each other and felt uncomfortable around them? Would the prom be cancelled then? What if I was uncomfortable around a mixed race couple or around people of races? The prom would not be cancelled because people would consider that racist. There is no difference between those situations and the one at the high school. I understand that gays and lesbians are not a type of race but it is something that they are born with, something that they cannot control, so you should not punish them for it.
The school is providing the students with a terrible example of how to handle issues that are outside of their comfort zone. They are basically saying that it is alright to discriminate against people, which is not something you should teach your children. They are also pawning off this problem to the community by stating that they hope private citizens will plan something for the students. I would be very upset if I was a parent in that area and the school was trying to make us sponsor an event that is always a school function.
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That is crazy that this kind of thing is going on in the 21st century. How can you possibly ban someone from going to their prom because of their sexual preference? That is so wrong on all levels. I think the school needs to re evaluate and think what kind of image they are trying to have. How can they possibly tell this couple they can’t go to prom because they are lesbians who make these rules? Homosexuals are already going through enough and trying to fight for their rights and now you’re putting rules on high school students? Seems kind of backwards to me.
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