Starmount High School Principal Danyelle Parker referred questions to Yadkin County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jim Benfield Tuesday morning.
“Actually one of our students asked to bring his friend,” said Benfield. The principal checked with him.
“The school practice had been not to bring outsiders, but I don’t think anybody ever asked about the sexual orientation,” said Benfield. “I called our attorney. He advised that we had to let them come. The school had no choice. The school doesn’t take a position on that. They have to be invited by one of our students. Then they have to fill out the form.”
Then the administrators check with the other school to see if there have been any problems with danger or safety, the superintendent said.
“If they say there are not, we can’t go in and discriminate,” he said. “That’s what the matter is. It’s a matter of we can’t discriminate.”
The policy did not change, according to Benfield.
“As far as I know, we hadn’t been faced with the question,” said Benfield.
“We checked on it, on that request, with our attorney,” he said.
“He looked at it and looked at our policy and the law. It’s just not that much choice in that. It’s unlawful. He said we didn’t have the grounds to turn people down. Our policy in law prohibits unlawful discrimination.
“They basically have a right to do that. We didn’t have a right to turn them down. We didn’t even ask the sexual preference like that. In the past we only had students come and bring people from outside.”
Students could not bring students of the same gender.
“That wasn’t anything to do with sexual orientation. That was with we didn’t want to bring problems in with fights,” he said. “We can’t turn it down. They have a right to come, so that’s what we did.”
The request was made by a parent of a student at Starmount High School. His friend attends another school.
There has been public reaction.
“I’ve gotten some,” he said. “I think they understand about the law part of it. People have their own opinions, you know. I respect their opinions on it, but we have to follow the law.”
What has the reaction been?
“I want to say this. Most of them have been very polite. People who call call with concern about us allowing people to come. I think most of them understood, that I talked to, that we had to do it. They don’t necessarily agree with it, but I think they understand that we can’t break the law.”
I am content with my life. I am who I am, and in the words of someone you may know " i can only be me"
This is not how you are supposed to treat your own flesh and blood. You are supposed to love your children unconditionally.
Quoting cgryder: "I am so sorry to all you parents and students who are not attending for this reason. I am sorry that there are people out in the world who thinks it has to be all about them!This is suppossed to be a memoriable event for all who are attending the prom not just for 2 people.I hate that someone can be so selfish to take that away from you!I am really sorry to all of you that someone in my family could be so selfish believe me he wasnt raised that way!"
To demand equal treatment and human and civil rights that we are all entitled to is not selfishness, selfishness is trying to prevent those who may be different than yourself or who's lifestyle is different from you own from having the same rights as you, yourself are entitled to.
He is just as entitled to this memorable event, with the date of his choice,as every other student in this school.
The person you need to apologizing to is the family member that you have not supported, not loved unconditionally. He is an awesome, loving, intelligent, soon to be adult, who deserves better than a nonsupporting, unloving family who would write this stuff about him.
...and Mr. Benfield: You know your policy was changed to say guest instead of date. You also know that even after your school was informed that this was not a friend he wanted to bring, but his date you still tried to say he could not do so. That is discrimination.
I am proud of how quickly your school handled the situation, but the truth is the truth! Of course it had to do with sexual orientation, if it didn't there never would have been an issue at all, because he would not have been told he couldn't bring a same sex prom date otherwise.
Now to make this perfectly clear, since the family wants everyone to know, No this student's parent did not contact the school or support their child in this matter at all. ...and that really is the saddest part of this whole affair.