Constance McMillan, an 18yo lesbian graduating from high school in Itawamba County, Miss., was told she couldn't bring a female date to the prom because of county rules against bringing same-sex dates. The school district in fact
canceled the prom rather than let a same-sex couple attend. After a judge ruled that doing so
violated Constance's civil rights, Constance was told (after long evasions and no answers as to details of the party) that the prom would be held at a country club Friday night in Fulton, Miss.
When she got to the club with her date, she found out that
the parents and rest of the students had scheduled second prom at a different, secret location. Five other students were directed to the prom Constance & her date were sent to, including two students with learning disabilities. The school principal & 2 teacher acted as chaperones for the seven students at the country club.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey
on Apr 6, 2010 -
251 comments
On the one hand, it ensures slow dancin' teens keep a safe distance apart. On the other, well, there's the sightline issue. Will it give geeks the nerve to dance with a partner? Covert Athletics presents
Pong Prom. Can
literally gettin' it on like Donkey Kong be next?
posted by GhostintheMachine
on Jan 26, 2010 -
12 comments
Steuard Jensen for Prom King! Three nerds get the resident high school science geek on the ballot for Prom King, and...well, you'll have to read the story to get the answer. Like in fiction, sometimes in real life the protagonist/hero comes from the most unexpected position.
posted by Kickstart70
on Jul 22, 2005 -
14 comments
Prom Story In a series of essays at Slate (
1,
2,
3) a journalist in his mid-20s lightheartedly recounts the experience of escorting a 17-year-old girl to her high-school prom (purely for journalistic purposes, it's worth noting). Posters at Slate's reader discussion forum, in spite of its
supremely cumbersome interface, express their strong (and not always coherent) disapproval, based mostly on the age difference between the author and his prom date. The author of the essays
responds:
"As the film critic Richard Roeper (who is much older, and much more influential than myself) pointed out in Esquire recently, this is indeed a strange cultural moment, one made all the stranger by the fact that we're not supposed to admit [it] actually exists." I'm not the biggest fan of journalists who engage in seemingly socially taboo behavior for the sole purpose of writing an article, but this made for interesting reading nonetheless.
posted by Prospero
on Jun 17, 2004 -
53 comments
The Prom is On for a gay teen who wants to take his boyfriend to his prom at a Roman Catholic school, as ordered by the court. This dispute has been making news in Canada for a few weeks. I thought it an interesting story because it touches on sexuality, morality, law, the church and education all at once. I wasn't out when my prom came around, so I went with a friend who knew about me. We had a blast, but a more romantic date would have been nice too.
posted by holycola
on May 10, 2002 -
31 comments
Prom dresses getting skimpier (NB: New York Times link). I have to believe that Principal Matakovich would have made prom night a quick roundtrip home for any girl who showed up at the San Luis Obispo High School prom dressed in one of these ... (although one hesitates to use Size 2 Spence girls as a firm sign of a trend).
posted by MattD
on May 29, 2001 -
23 comments
Kudos to the students at Ferndale High in Washington State. Not only for breaking down some
barriers, but also for being more mature than most of the adults involved with the school. And, for you readers that have not cast Salon.com into the darkest pits of your memory banks, here's their article which has a surprising, and refreshing, quote from the prom
queen.
posted by donkeysuck
on May 21, 2001 -
9 comments
Who knew? Apparently porn spammers were actually providing us with
valuable service all along! (Me, I'm springing for the penis enlargement.)
posted by tweebiscuit
on May 19, 2001 -
15 comments
