Itawamba Agricultural High School senior Constance McMillen, who petitioned her school district to be able to take her girlfriend to her high school prom, was surprised when she appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show on Friday. The host handed her a $30,000 scholarship check, on-air.
The above photo was released by Warner Bros. after the show aired.
After Constance McMillen petitioned the Itawamba County School District, for both the right to attend the prom and to wear a tuxedo, the district denied both requests. When served with a letter by the ACLU asking the decisions be reversed, the district cancelled the prom.
Meanwhile, the school district told parents they should have a private prom. With the district out of the prom, any Constitutional claims would therefore be eliminated, and the students and parents could do what they wanted.
Apparently they have done so. Reportedly, t parents have organized a private prom at a furniture mart in nearby Tupleo.
On one Internet discusion board, a poster who identified himself only as a junior at the high school said the prom would be "invitation only."
"Constance and her gay-activist friends will not be attending. They can go have their own prom because we certainly do not want any of them there.
"We have newsmen at front doors of the school every freaking morning," he wrote. "They flag us down to interview us as we're coming and leaving school. I'm sick and tired of it. We are very traditional here so, personally, I think if Constance doesn't like it here, she needs to pack her stuff and move. No one even liked her here that much in the first place."
That may be the case locally, but nationally, the view of Constance McMillen is different. McMillen has been on several talk shows, including Ellen DeGeneres' as mentioned earlier.
Calling McMillen part of a new generation of leaders for her stand for gay rights, DeGeneres presented her with a $30,000 college scholarship check from website Tonic.com. She said to McMillen:
"I admire you so much. When I was your age I never would have had the strength to do what you are doing."
Additionally, Tonic.com has offered McMillen a summer internship in New York City. A hearing is scheduled Monday in federal court in Aberdeen on the ACLU's efforts to force the district to hold the prom.
Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com
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