CHASE AND JORDAN GO TO THE PROM
This is a testament to Jordan’s über cool parents, to Chase and Jordan for being so open and honest and to Starmount High School and Principal Parker for doing the right thing. I want to preface the following by stating that I mean no disrespect to the school or it’s administrators. I know that unfortunately this is still an issue and Chase, Jordan, Leesa and all others involved are doing their part to change it.
I have come to know Leesa Nixon, Jordan’s Mom, as the very supportive ‘FagHagMom’ on Twitter. We have never met but our virtual friendship over the past month has been endearing. She is clearly a role model for any parent of an LGBT child. She is unconditionally supportive.
So when her son’s boyfriend, Chase wanted to bring her son, Jordan to his senior prom and he was met with opposition from high school administrators, Leesa came to his defense. Bravo!!. We’ve heard this story several times this prom season with mixed outcomes. It’s a shame that these scenarios still have to involve attorneys, the HRC and the ACLU. We all recall the ongoing drama with Constance Mcmillen, the HRC and the fake prom? Gross.
It’s a dance for god’s sake. Is this a reincarnation of Footloose where no dancing has been replaced by no non-straights? Below is Leesa’s account of the victorious experience that made the high school examine their policy on same-sex prom dates. At the end of the article you can listen to the audio voicemail message left by principle Parker. She seems a bit nervous but I have to give her props for basically doing the right thing. Although they just changed the school policy so that anyone could bring a ‘guest’ and not call it a date as opposed to allowing same-sex dates, it’s still a step in the right direction. Nicely done. Congratulations to all parties involved!!!
Below article written by: Leesa Nixon–Jordans awesome mom!
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Senior Prom that much-anticipated rite of passage for American youth. The moment they wait for all school year, it is the signal that they have finally made it through 4 years of high school hell and in a very short time they will be adults, living on their own, conquering the world.
The dreaded question, “will you go to prom with me?” has been asked and answered, “Yes”. What to wear has been argued about, discussed and finally agreed upon. Transportation, check! All the hard stuff has been addressed and they are all ready to go, right?
Wrong!
For Gay, Lesbian, Bi and Transsexual teens, finding a date and something to wear to the prom is the easy part. The hard part comes when school officials tell them that they cannot bring their same-sex date, or dress in a manner the school officials feel is inappropriate, “like wearing a tux if you’re a girl or a dress if you’re a boy.”
Take for example, the case of 17-year-old Chase, a student at Starmount High School in Booneville, North Carolina, who was called into the principal’s office April 6th. The following is Chase’s account of what happened next.
“Today, April 6, 2010 I was called into the Principal’s office, I was unaware of the reason at the time. When I entered the office, Mrs. Parker was in the room, sitting at her desk and so was Mr. Samuel, the Vice Principal. Mr. Samuel was sitting in the corner of her office. I went in and Mrs. Parker, the Principal, asked me to shut the door, which, I did.
Mrs. Parker then asked me to sit down, and I think I did, though I only remember standing, but I believe I sat down. Mrs. Parker then tells me, that she didn’t realize it until she looked at my permission form for prom again that I was planning to bring a boy to the prom or something like that, and then she informed me that I couldn’t bring a friend as my date.
Mrs. Parker stated, that it was because other people would want to bring friends and it’s a rule that they’ve had for a while now, that you could not bring friends to the prom. I informed Mrs. Parker that Jordan is not my friend, but my boyfriend and she replied that she knew my situation was different but she couldn’t let me bring him.
I then asked her, “why?” And she replied that she knew my situation was different but if people saw me bring my “friend” then other guys would want to bring their, and I quote, “Home-Boys” to prom. When I didn’t respond, Mrs. Parker then asked me if I had a “backup friend” a girlfriend to bring instead. I stated, “No, I won’t go” (Implying that I would not go if he couldn’t).
Mrs. Parker then asked me if I had already bought my prom ticket and I said no. Then she said nothing else and neither did I, until I asked if I could go and she said that I could. I told her thank you and she said thank you and I left.
Mr. Samuel never said anything the entire time I was there; I believe he was there to ensure that the conversation did not get out of hand.
This is not a word-by-word account of the entire meeting. But the “I know your situation is different” and “Other guys would want to bring their “homeboys” are exact quotes of what Mrs. Parker said to me.”
The discrimination that Chase was confronted with has been resolved. I called and spoke with his principal and informed her that not allowing Chase to bring his boyfriend to the prom was discrimination and a violation of his constitutionally protected rights. I threatened to call the ACLU, (which I did) and go to the media.
After our first conversation, I was contacted by Mrs. Parker, who informed me that she was waiting on the school attorney to call.
April 7th, Mrs. Parker left a message on my phone stating that she had spoken with the school attorney and that the school was going to allow Chase to bring my son Jordan to his Senior Prom “as his outside date” and that what they were going to have to do, was change the rule to allow students to bring a guest and not necessarily a “date”.
To be fair to Mrs. Parker, I got the distinct impression that she did not agree with this policy and was only trying to follow the rules that were in effect in her school district before she got there. She immediately went to work and corrected the issue at hand.
I applaud Starmount High School for their quick actions, I brought this issue to their attention and in one day they not only changed their initial decision, they changed their policy to ensure that this would never happen again. Although they change their policy to state “guest” instead of “date”, it is still a step in the right direction and they should be admired for their willingness to change. It is my hope that all schools would respond to these issues in such a fair and timely manner.
Thankfully Starmount High School did solve the problem very quickly, and decided to put a stop to this unfair treatment. Unfortunately, other schools are not willing to resolve these issues and discrimination without being told do so by the courts.
The educators in these cases are teaching hate and intolerance to our nations children, the example they are setting with their treatment of these gay, lesbian, bi and transsexual children only enforces the view that these teens and all homosexual’s should be ostracized and denied the same fundamental rights as straight people.
How is America the land of the free, where all men are purportedly created equal supposed to achieve a society of fairness, equality and justice, when the very people charged with educating our children are behaving in such a discriminating manner?
There are laws and school rules that prohibit hate crimes, discrimination, bullying, and harassment, but when the very people who are in charge of enforcing those rules and laws, are guilty of breaking them, who protects these children from them?
** Special Note of Interest
There is currently a bill before Congress that would protect Gay, Lesbian, Bi, and Transsexual students from this very type of discrimination. If you would like to take a stand against this discrimination, contact your Congressman/Woman and ask them to support and pass the Student Non-Discrimination Act
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.4530:
This bill, if passed, would “end discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity in public schools, and for other purposes.” You can read the entire bill at the link above.
I urge all of you to call Congress and voice your support of this bill. If you are unsure of who to talk to you may visit the House of Representatives website at
http://www.house.gov/ to find out who your Congressional Representative is.
Stop teaching hate, don’t discriminate. Celebrate!! Jordan and Chase have been dating since September 2008 and hope to get marry one day.
Listen to the message from Mrs. Parker here
http://chirb.it/g8aLsh
ROCK ON LEESA!! Hope you boys have a great night. Shine on!
http://blog.jackmackenroth.com