Mississippi School Prom Canceled After Lesbian’s Date Request
Itawamba County Agricultural High School in Fulton, Mississippi canceled its senior prom rather than allow a lesbian student to wear a tuxedo and bring her girlfriend to the dance. The New York Times reports that the “school district’s policy requires that senior prom dates be of the opposite sex.” The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi said “a school policy banning same-sex prom dates violated [Constance] McMillen’s constitutional rights,” and gave the school until March 10th to change their policy. Instead, the school canceled the prom, stating that it wouldn’t host the event “ ‘due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events.” The statement continued, saying “ ‘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.’ ” According to the ACLU, 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.’ ” The ACLU has set up a Facebook Page titled “Let Constance Take Her Girlfriend to Prom!”—the page has close to 400,000 fans. Last week, Constance McMillen shared her story on The Ellen Degeneres Show (watch the video here).
- Why do you think Itawamba County Agricultural High School decided to cancel the prom rather than allow Constance McMillen to bring her girlfriend as her prom date? Do you think the school has violated McMillen’s constitutional rights?
- When you think about the struggle for civil rights, whose stories come to mind? What are the similarities and differences between those stories and Constance’s story?
- The school board claims to have cancelled the prom “due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events.” What distractions do you think they are referring to?
- One student, who openly stated “ ‘I don’t agree with homosexuality,’ ” said of the prom’s cancellation, “ ‘either way someone was going to get disappointed—either Constance was or we were.’ ” Why do you think students would be disappointed if Constance were allowed to go to the prom with her girlfriend? What do you make of the student’s choice to use the word “disappointed”? In whom or with whom do you think the students would be disappointed?
- 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.’ ” How do people become comfortable with difference? Do you think others’ discomfort would justify asking Constance and her girlfriend to leave the prom?
- How does homophobia play out in your school? Where does it come from?
