Education / Schools, Gay, Lawsuit of the Day

Lawsuit of the Day: No Gay Prom Royalty for This High School

It looks like one high school in Georgia wants to keep students’ memories of prom as heterosexual as possible. Let’s take a look at the allegations made in our Lawsuit of the Day....

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Remember back in high school, when the prospect of being named prom king or queen was oh-so-exciting (or incredibly annoying, depending on your social circle)? Attaining such a title was like winning the grand prize in a four-year long popularity contest. The hottest girl always took home the queen’s crown, and the most beloved football player always took home the queen.

Ah, memories. But what about students who swing a different way? Can they aspire to be crowned at the high school prom? Unfortunately, it looks like one high school in Georgia wants to keep students’ memories of prom as heterosexual as possible. A student body leader claims that he was ousted from his position because of his proposal to open prom royalty positions to gay couples.

Let’s take a look at the allegations made in our Lawsuit of the Day….

Rueben Lack, who held the title of student body president at Alpharetta High School (Georgia) until last month, claims that he was canned after proposing that gay students be allowed to participate in bids for prom king and queen positions. ABC News has more information:

Lack, whose Facebook says he is straight, alleged the suit that administrators at Alpharetta High School violated his first amendment rights when they shut down a student council meeting discussion on modifying the prom king and queen tradition to make it accessible to gay couples.

The school countered that Lack was let go for not fulfilling his duties as president.

Instead, the school is claiming that Lack was a “poor leader.” Right, because attempting to make fellow students feel welcome is definitely a part of being a “poor leader.” Allegedly kicking this kid off of student council because he merely suggested making a change? Now that’s some poor leadership.

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But apparently kids in Georgia are on the school’s side. They’ve taken to the interwebs and have started to harass Lack. Guys at my high school tried to make prom gay-friendly and got bullied for it all the time, it was no big deal. Here’s a tweet from another Alpharetta High student that Lack’s lawyer, James Radford, found:

That’s a pretty dumb reason to drop out of high school. You’d think that with all of the anti-bullying rhetoric going around, that these students would get a clue, but no such luck. For what it’s worth, the guy in the tiara would probably rock that crown with more fabulosity than the head cheerleader, anyway.

So what’s the moral of the story here? High school students remain stupid, and high schools themselves remain opposed to change.

Lawsuit: Student Body President Removed Over Gay Prom Proposal [ABC News]
Alpharetta High student sues Fulton Schools over prom king/queen proposal [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Georgia high school student sues high school over gay prom king, queen proposal [New York Daily News]

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