Gay/Straight Update: Settling for a Prom Date

Gay Guy,

In case you hadn't heard...

Remember the Mississippi girl who asked if she could bring a same-sex date to the senior prom? And the school district that would rather cancel the whole thing (and implicate her as the problem) than follow it's own non-discrimination policy?

Her classmates and the community chased her out of town and she finished the year at another school.

Well, now the district has settled the claim in her favor, for $35,000 plus lawyer's fees.

From the AP: "McMillen said she thinks the case resonated with so many people because 'prom is a common theme and everyone knows how it feels to want to go to prom. With my story, even if people didn't agree with being gay, they understood. They figured out how cruel some people can be.'"

She's headed off to college to study psychology and will use the cash to cover tuition costs... and hopefully a nice corsage.

--Straight Guy

4 comments:

Oddyoddyo13 said...

How rude and hypocritical....I don't think anyone would mind either, just the district.

Anonymous said...

It should have been more money and lost jobs to the school board and anyone else involved. This entire thing was so wrong on so many levels!

Straight Guy said...

Oddy: Yes, it was rude, but it seems like the other students did mind and they (and their parents) blamed this girl. Tradition meets change, an old story.

M Rivers: Yes. But don't discount how good a quick win and the ability to walk away might be good for the victim. I could be wrong, but I'd be shocked if the district made the same mistake again. $35,000 is huge in a state where poverty is pervasive.

kathryn said...

Yes, people can be cruel. And going to the prom, or not being invited...becomes a whole big mess that messes with your head when you're going thru that hard-enough-to-get-thru stage called high school.

I wouldn't want to relive those days...once was enough.

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