Gay high school couple cannot become Prom Royalty, says school
A petition has been launched calling for equal prom rights
By Steve Brown
A gay high school couple have been told by their school that they both cannot become Prom Royalty.
Joel Lerner and Carter Hebert attend Chattahoochee High School, in Georgia, and although they have both been nominated for Prom King, their school has said that due to ballot issues the couple won’t be able to be Prom King and Prom King.
CBS46 report that the couple decided to run for the coveted title in the hopes that they would be the first gay couple in the school’s history to hold the title of Prom Royalty.
However, when speaking to school administrators, they were told that even though there was a straight couple in the running, the process of election would not be changed.
The couple didn’t stop there and even suggested opening the election process from one list of male and female candidates to a single list that included both sexes so students could vote for the two best options.
Hebert told FOX5: “We’ve been lucky because we’ve never really been facing discrimination, especially in the area we’ve grown up in, and from the school, which has been amazing.
“But when it came to this, we were hoping they would do what they normally did and gave us equality and let us run together.”
Although the school is remaining on their original stance that the ballot system would not be change, the students have launched a petition calling for equal prom rights.
A statement from the school district, Fulton County Schools, reads: “The Chattahoochee High School administration has met with students requesting to change the process for selecting prom king and queen.
“The students were told that because nominations have been made and the process is underway, the school administration is not in a position to make changes at this time.
“If they would like to change the process moving forward, student leaders are encouraged to present a proposal to the school’s administration and governance board.”
The link to the petition is here.