News
2006-04-15
Gay prom a big
hit in rural California
Gay high school
students and their allies packed the dance floor in Tracy
on Thursday night.
What organizers
What organizers
claimed was the California Central Valley's first
gay-friendly prom was a smash hit on Thursday evening, as
gay students and their allies from Tracy and West high
schools packed the dance floor at Klugow Hall in
Tracy. Because the event wasn't school-sponsored, it
had to be held at the outside venue, reports The
Standard newspaper.
According to the
paper, the prom was organized by students from West High
School's gay-straight alliance. "This was the idea, to have
an all-inclusive event," Justin Daley, the club's
president, told The Standard, standing outside a
crowded banquet room at Klugow. "This is what we
planned, and this is what we got."
In the run-up to
the prom, Daley said he had expected religious groups to
picket outside the venue. But no protesters showed up. The
event brought together students from the local high
schools as well as others who came from Manteca,
Stockton, and as far away as Long Beach. "I'd never
felt like I was welcome at the prom," said David Stengel,
19, a senior at Lindbergh High School in Manteca.
Ashley McEnerney,
a senior at Lincoln High School, said she doesn't feel
ostracized by her peers, but she liked the environment
Thursday night. "As a lesbian, you don't...get to go
places where there's other gay people," McEnerney, 18,
told the paper.
Daley said he
sold 200 tickets to the event to both gay and straight
students. The event had many of the trappings of a
traditional prom. A professional DJ played modern
hits, classic dance songs, and enough slow numbers for
students to snuggle up to their dates. Couples could have
their pictures taken by a professional photographer as they
walked in the door.
And like any
other prom, there were adult chaperones. Unitarian
Universalist churches and the Gay-Straight Alliance at
California State University, Chico, provided the
chaperones for Thursday's dance.
Though Daley is
graduating this year, he said he expects students at West
to continue the tradition next year. "This is something that
students can look forward to," he said. (The
Advocate)
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