Students in Indiana Town Want “Traditional Prom” Banning Gay Students From Attending

Several students and their parents are banding together to create a “straights only” prom, and they don’t care who they offend to do it.

A group of Sullivan High School students in Wabash Valley, Indiana, who are joined by their parents, and at least one teacher, have set out to create a “traditional” prom, one banning all gay students from attending. High School administration has said there is nothing they can legally do to allow a segregated prom such as this, so several parents and students are “taking matters into their own hands.” As NBC 2 reports, several students have spoken up about their desire for a prom without gays. Kynon Johnson said, “If we can get a good prom then we can convince more people to come and follow what they believe.” He said there were other students in the high school who feel the same way but are “afraid to take a stand.” Another student told reporters, “We want to make the public see that we love the homosexuals, but we don’t think it’s right nor should it be accepted.”

Several local pastors have spoken out in support of what the students and thier parents are trying to do, but many others in the community are outraged. In fact, Gawker reports that “counter-campaign” has been started by other students at Sullivan High which is highly supported by not only students, but faculty, staff, and the community at large. According to Gawker, one student wrote on the Facebook page 2013 Sullivan Traditional Prom, which is no longer active, “Sullivan High School is ACCEPTING the same-sex couples and the staff at SHS is for the same-sex couples going and so are the majority of student and people in the community.”

Unfortunately, students having segregated proms is nothing new. Many high schools in the Deep South still segregate their proms, and as recently as 2009 a high school in Georgia made headlines for continuing this outdated, illegal, and in my opinion vile and immoral practice.