School cancels prom to prevent gay student from bringing a date

JACKSON, Miss. – An 18-year-old Mississippi lesbian student says she got some unfriendly looks from classmates when she returned to school after officials canceled the senior prom because of her request to escort her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

Constance McMillen says she didn't want to go back, but her father told her she needed to face her classmates and school officials in Fulton. McMillen says one student told her, "Thanks for ruining my senior year."

The Itawamba County school district announced Wednesday it wouldn't host the April 2 prom at McMillen's high school.

The decision came after the American Civil Liberties Union told officials a policy banning same-sex prom dates violated students' rights.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A northern Mississippi school district will not be hosting a high school prom this spring after a lesbian student sought to attend with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

The Itawamba County school district's board decided Wednesday to drop the prom because of what it called recent distractions but without specifically mentioning the girl's request, which was backed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The student, 18-year-old high school senior Constance McMillen, said the cancellation was retaliation for her efforts to bring her girlfriend, also a student, to the April 2 dance.

"A bunch of kids at school are really going to hate me for this, so in a way it's really retaliation," McMillen told The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson. Calls to McMillen by The Associated Press late Wednesday went unanswered.

School policy requires that senior prom dates be of the opposite sex. The ACLU of Mississippi had given the district until Wednesday to change that policy, arguing that banning same-sex prom dates violated McMillen's constitutional rights.

Instead, the school board met and issued a statement announcing it wouldn't host the event at Itawamba County Agricultural High School in Fulton, "due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events."

The statement didn't mention McMillen or the ACLU. When asked by The Associated Press if McMillen's demand led to the cancellation, school board attorney Michele Floyd said she could only reference the statement.

"It is our hope that private citizens will organize an event for the juniors and seniors," district officials said in the statement. "However, at this time, we feel that it is in the best interest of the Itawamba County School District, after taking into consideration the education, safety and well being of our students."

Kristy Bennett, legal director for the ACLU of Mississippi, said the district was trying to avoid the issue.

"But that doesn't take away their legal obligations to treat all the students fairly," Bennett said. "On Constance's behalf, this is unfair to her. All she's trying to do is assert her rights."

Itawamba County is a rural area of about 23,000 people in north Mississippi near the Alabama state line. It's near Pontotoc County, Miss., where more than a decade ago school officials were sued in federal court over their practice of student-led intercom prayer and Bible classes.

Anna Watson, a 17-year-old junior at the high school, was looking forward to the prom, especially since the town's only hotspot is the bowling alley, she said.

"I am a little bummed out about it. I guess it's a decision that had to be made. Either way someone was going to get disappointed — either Constance was or we were," Watson said. "I don't agree with homosexuality, but I can't change what another person thinks or does."

Other students are on McMillen's side.

McKenzie Chaney, 16, said she wasn't planning to attend the prom, but "it's kind of ridiculous that they can't let her wear the tuxedo and it all be over with."

A Feb. 5 memo to students laid out the criteria for bringing a date to the prom, and one requirement was that the person must be of the opposite sex.

The ACLU said McMillen approached school officials shortly before the memo went out because she knew same-sex dates had been banned in the past. The ACLU said district officials told McMillen she and her girlfriend wouldn't be allowed to arrive together, that she would not be allowed to wear a tuxedo, and that she and her girlfriend might be asked to leave if their presence made any other students "uncomfortable."

McMillen said she feared she would be thrown out of the prom because "we do live in the Bible Belt."

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Looks like they are trying to avoid the issue. I am guessing that there are state laws that prevent them from allowing a lesbian couple from attending the prom.

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Right?

That's why they're saying that they hope a private prom can be held for the students, so that the 2 lesbians can go as a couple.. right?

Or am I just being naive here?

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Karalysia said:

No there aren't, its a public school they're not allowed to discriminate.

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School policy requires that senior prom dates be of the opposite sex.

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The Itawamba County School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion,
national origin, sex, age or disability in the provision of educational programs and services
or employment opportunities and benefits. The following person has been designated to handle;
inquiries and complaints regarding the non-discrimination policies of the Itawamba County School District.

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But, hey, there may still be a prom! The school board has invited "private citizens" to host a prom—because a group of private citizens, unlike a public school, can bar McMillen and her girlfriend from prom without risking a lawsuit.

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"I am a little bummed out about it. I guess it's a decision that had to be made. Either way someone was going to get disappointed — either Constance was or we were," Watson said. "I don't agree with homosexuality, but I can't change what another person thinks or does."

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Watson said. "I don't agree with homosexuality, but I can't change what another person thinks or does."

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Watson said. "I don't agree with homosexuality,

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I don't agree with homosexuality

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Karalysia said:

And the ACLU told them that they couldn't. So they decided to out of spite cancel the whole thing.

Also they're in violation of their own policy:


http://www.itawambacountyschools.com/non-discrimination.htm

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Karalysia said:

And the ACLU told them that they couldn't. So they decided to out of spite cancel the whole thing.

Also they're in violation of their own policy:


http://www.itawambacountyschools.com/non-discrimination.htm

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Perfection said:

Jerks

It's truely sad it had to come to this.

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MobBoss said:

I agree that its sad because 2 people want to make a statement.

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MobBoss said:

I agree that its sad because 2 people want to make a statement and feel like they have to get organizations like the ACLU involved.

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warpus said:

What statement? They just want to go to the prom as a couple, just like everyone else.

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MobBoss said:

Nah, that ended when they contacted the ACLU. Essentially, two people ruined the whole thing for everyone else. That about sums it up.

And I say this as a guy who got ejected once from a prom for bringing a date that violated 'the rules'. Could I have made a huge deal about it? Sure. But sometimes the right thing to do is to just let it go and move on.

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MobBoss said:

I agree that its sad because 2 people want to make a statement and feel like they have to get organizations like the ACLU involved.

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MobBoss said:

I agree that its sad because 2 people want to make a statement and feel like they have to get organizations like the ACLU involved.

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MobBoss said:

Nah, that ended when they contacted the ACLU. Essentially, two people ruined the whole thing for everyone else. That about sums it up.

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MobBoss said:

And I say this as a guy who got ejected once from a prom for bringing a date that violated 'the rules'. Could I have made a huge deal about it? Sure. But sometimes the right thing to do is to just let it go and move on.

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