Cynthia Stewart Prom Discrimination RaeGin Davis, Lily Jackson, Reyana Paloma, ebony smIth
First amendment; Free Expression and Censorship. November 2009. Cynthia Stewart, a junior at Tharptown High School in northern Alabama, wanted to bring her girlfriend to prom. Rather than let her, the school announced that it would cancel prom for everyone. In its letter to Franklin County School System officials, the ACLU cited cases both in Alabama state court and federal court guaranteeing students' First Amendment right to bring same-sex dates to school dances.
The restraining order:
When Cynthia asked the principal if she could bring her girlfriend with her to the prom, he said no. He also made her take off a pride 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 reported the principal’s actions to the school board. But the board let the decision to ban Cynthia from bringing her girlfriend to the prom stand.
RUSSELLVILLE, AL - Franklin County School System officials for reversing their decision banning a lesbian student from attending the school prom with her girlfriend.
The School System permitted 17-year-old Tharptown High School junior Cynthia Stewart to bring her girlfriend to the upcoming March 25 prom, came after the ACLU sent a letter to the school on November 10 demanding that their initial decision be reversed.
"All I wanted all along was to be myself and have a fun night at prom like any other student," said Stewart. "Prom’s going to be amazing, and I can’t wait to walk in that door with my girlfriend on my arm."
Stewart, a member of the prom planning committee, raised over $200 for the event and created the theme her classmates chose for it. And still, wasn't allowed to go with her girlfriend.
Stewart's aunt and guardian, Kathy Baker, approached ACLU of Alabama board member and local attorney Henry F. Sherrod III for assistance after the school board turned down her appeal of the principal's decision. Some teachers announced in classes that prom was being canceled altogether as a way to avoid having to let Cynthia bring her date.
"It’s unfortunate that we had to step in to remind this school of its constitutional obligations to its students, but we’re pleased that they’re finally doing the right thing," said Sherrod. "Schools should treat all students equally, and not have a separate set of rules for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students."
Works Cited
“Russellville, Alabama School Prom Discrimination.” ACLU. aclu.org. 20 Nov. 2009.
Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
“Amendment 1” LLI. US Law/LII Legal Institute. 2015 Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
“First Amendment” LAWS First Amendment kids.laws.com. 2015 Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
Outcome: When Cynthia got a rejected request for her to take her girlfriend to prom she soon got an email from the Superintendent saying that they supported the principal’s response. Cynthia decided to go to court because she felt like it was crazy for her to make prom get cancelled when she gave the idea for the theme and donated $200. After going to court Cynthia won the case and the Franklin County School System allowed Cynthia to take her girlfriend to prom.
Amendment Broken: This case breaks the first amendment that states,”Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” This means that in this case it is unjust for them to ban Cynthia Stewart from her school prom when she did nothing wrong; she asked a simple question that could have been answered with yes/no and a specific reason why that broke a rule.
Opinions: We feel that this case is unbelievable. It’s crazy how Cynthia paid for some of the prom, picked the theme, and is on the planning committee but she can’t attend. If they never mentioned anything about LGBT rules then why did they have to make some now without giving a legit reason to why she can’t attend.
Case: Cynthia Stewart vs. Franklin County School System held in Alabama State court