http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/12/earlyshow/main6292120.shtml

The explanation from the school is that the policy is against same-sex dates because tickets for couples are cheaper than tickets for single attendees. The policy is set up to prevent people from buying a couples ticket for 2 girls or 2 guys who aren't actually a couple.

The girl argued that that is discrimination against legitimate same-sex couples who want to attend a dance together.


I don't see why you don't just make the tickets the same price per person whether you're going alone or taking a date. That would have prevented any problems Or she could pay the extra 3 dollars to bring her date along and still attend as a couple.

But instead this has become a huge issue of discrimination and is getting a bunch of media attention.

I think the school is over-reacting. It's not hard to find out if a student is legitimately gay or not. Ask around to the students and teachers and you'll figure it out pretty quickly.

Thoughts? Opinions? Does this seem as silly to me as it does to the rest of you? Should this even be an issue anymore? It's just a dance.... let people go with whoever they want.

This is absolutely ridiculous! The school has no right to discriminate against same-sex dates! Granted, it could have been handled differently by the student, but the school should not have reacted as extremely as it did.

The school definitely overreacted. I'm not for homosexuality at all, but I won't say that same-sex couples don't have the right to attend prom together if they can afford it. Canceling the prom was an overreaction. The girl, on the other hand, could have just bought single tickets for herself and her girlfriend and gotten over it. But like hypermonkey said, this is absolutely ridiculous!

I would have to agree its the schools fault for charging different prices per person. That is discrimination and would not have made news unless it had just a good of a twist as a lesbian couple in this case.

School has no right to tell you what sexual prefrences or religion or point of views you can have. That is why it's best to stop going to school

Originally posted by geeogree

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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/12/earlyshow/main6292120.shtml


I don't see why you don't just make the tickets the same price per person whether you're going alone or taking a date. That would have prevented any problems Or she could pay the extra 3 dollars to bring her date along and still attend as a couple.

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Bingo.

I tottaly thinks it's stupid on both parties.

The thing is, the 2 girls are flattering themselves by being drama queens about "discrimination". Sure it may have been unfair on the school's part to charge like so, but they could have been reasonable people and privately speak to the school after paying the 3$. No doubt they refused to pay because they felt paying one penny is too much in the name of discrimination, or some equally dramatic bull.

Secondly, the school cancled the dance?! Goodness, couldn't they have been a little more mature than the high school girls and say "ok we'll change the prices cause the way we are charging now is creating problems"?

It seems like both were being stuborn, instead of trying to reach a peacefull conclusion.

I like conspiracies so I'm just going to throw this out there... it could be possible that the so called lesbians did it on purpose in order to sue. Lots of people sue over the stupidest things these days so there is a good possibility it could have been a well thought out stunt to get rich

you aren't going to get rich suing the school.... although I heard they were in the process of suing in order to force the school to have the dance.

I agree with LK. A little bit of effort by both parties could have resolved this situation but instead both sides were stubborn and have blown this out of proportion.

As intersting as it is to see how foolish the world is, I sometimes wish the midea didn't give situations like this any attention; it just blows it out of proportion and influences other over-dramatic people of immitating that type of behavior.

Firstly: LK, if someone did something that discriminated against you (doesn't matter what it was), would you put up with it? I don't think you would.

Secondly: Wow, that school has issues. Firstly, charging a separate price for couples is just messed up. It sends the message that it is bad for you to be single, and that can have psychological consequences for fragile teenage minds who are already insecure about being single. Then to cancel the entire prom because of the issue just screams insecure and really just set themselves up for a lawsuit.

That some of you are so dismissive of this is kinda sad. Is it just because they are gay? What if it was a separate price because they were black? Same principle of discrimination, but I bet you suddenly everyone would be a lot more pissed. Guess what, you should be no less pissed for them being gay. Discrimination is discrimination and no one should ever put up with it, even if it is only a $3 difference, as it is the principle of the thing.

It is absolutely mental... why deny the girl a chance to go to the prom with her date just because she is a lesbian? And then to cancel the prom entirely? The school must be completely out of their mind.

First off it's bull that they can't sell a same sex couples can't buy a couple ticket because other people could use it to bring their friends. I had friends who brought their opposite gender friends to the prom, one of them was actually gay.

Second off the school had a policy about same sex couples which is discrimitary and I would've fought it. Its not about the three dollar difference but principles as Elara said. The fact that the school had a policy like this is not surprising to me since it is in Mississippi lol

Third off for those of you who said the girl should of talked to the school about this she actually did talk to the principal but he denied her.

Lastly prom sucks any way so don't waste the money

Elara: I understand what you're saying.... but if that were me I would be going whether they allowed me to bring a my same sex date or not. If I had to pay extra I would just to be there with my date.

I also highly doubt that the reason for the same sex date rule they had set up was discrimination against gays or lesbians and rather to prevent people from using the lower price when they weren't actually going to the prom together.

I agree the price difference is stupid even without the same sex consideration. And I have no idea what the price difference actually is. I just said $3 as a likely amount. It's rarely a large price difference.... but it still is pretty stupid that being single costs more.

School's perpose, in my country,is to teach students about their future carrier and also to give some examples of acceptable social life. But you are always free to choose your way.So im my point of view, every opinion and kind of personal life is acceptable and we must start respecting each others lives.

Elara: along with other people, it seems you really feel they were purposfully discriminated against. I seriously doubt that was the school's intentions. Most likely the school had a stupid rule of letting dates come in at a lower price, not purposed to keep lesbians and gays from saving 3$. Yes, when the issu was raised when the lesbian's tried to come in the school should have adapted their policy, stupid school. But the students could have realized the policy was not aimed at discriminating them and chilled, maybe afterwards bringing up to the school, and see if the school changes it's charging next dance. Also, the school didn't need to call the dance off, that was stupid.

Were I live, there are strong French-English tension, I'm a minority, but sometimes it's better not to fight fire with fire when no harm was meant. As in this case, it was just a stupid situation, not an attack on them.

I see what you mean, but what I mean is: both parties could have tried ending things peacfully.

From what I read in the article, she did try at first. Talking to the school didn't work, they wouldn't budge and straight out told her she couldn't bring her girlfriend as a date. At that point, whether the rule was intentionally discriminatory or not before, it became discriminatory then.

If I remember my prom right, I think they had a discount for couples (and they knew who was gay and who wasn't) and it was a difference of ten or fifteen bucks. For a teenager, that is a big difference.

I'm not suggesting what the school did was right.... but at what point is an issue like this, or any other issue of "discrimination" go from making everything equal for everyone to giving special treatment to people who are different?

I think the school should have an equal cost system for the tickets. Single or couple should cost the same per person.

But take this farther than this issue. When do "equal rights" stop being equal and become about "making it up" to some group that has been slighted somehow.

I'm all for equal rights, but it pisses me off when people use that term in order to get something extra for the minority they are in support of.

[edit] I'm trying to think of an example that illustrates this and i'm coming up blank right now. =/

It is pretty silly, but she does have a point. I can also see her tryn to use this issue as a cash cow. Whatever her agenda maybe however doesnt make it right for the school. They should just have one flat rate per ticket to squash all this contraversy ....

[edited for being totally off topic and irrelevant]

I know what you are saying geeogree, but I don't see this as one of those situations. At least I don't think it is.

I was trying to move the conversation along to a broader issue.... I know it doesn't really apply here. I was trying to get more out of the thread

I don't think this is one of those situations either. A little bit of consideration by the school and this would have been a non-issue.