RUSSELLVILLE, Alabama — Cynthia Stewart, a 17-year-old junior at Tharptown High School in northern Alabama, is a member of her school’s prom planning committee and had personally raised over $200 for the prom.
But if she shows up to the prom, it may be canceled for everyone. The reason: Cynthia is an out lesbian.
When Cynthia approached her principal to ask if she could bring her girlfriend with her to the prom, he said no, according to the ACLU.
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Rather than let her, the school announced that it would cancel prom for everyone.
The principal also made Cynthia remove a sticker she was wearing that said, “I am a lesbian,” telling her, “You don’t have that much freedom of speech at school.”
Cynthia’s aunt and guardian, Kathy Baker, then appealed the principal’s decision to the school board. But the board let the decision to bar Cynthia from bringing her girlfriend to the prom stand.
The ACLU has intervened, demanding that school officials allow Cynthia bring her girlfriend to the prom and refrain from further violating her First Amendment rights.
