Put 500 Grade 12 students in a room; dress them up in
fancy clothes put on some music. The result: a fully Americanized rite of
passage that began in the mid-1800s. That’s it, the night every graduating
student anticipates: Prom, an agglomeration of friendship, happiness,
celebration, withdrawal, and fear. Some prepare to stay at home, and some look
forward to it being the best night of their lives.
In Mark Hall’s case, it turned into a lawsuit that is
still spoken of today, 11 years afterwards. In 2002, Hall took The Durham
Catholic School Board to court after it refused to allow him to bring his
boyfriend to his high school prom. He was a Roman Catholic 17 year old, and
submitted his boyfriend, Jean-Paul Dumond’s name when he was asked by his
school to submit the names of the guests he intended to bring. Monsignor John
Pereyma Catholic Secondary School needed to know this information to ensure the
safety of the students, and to know which students would be present. The school
refused to allow Hall to bring a date of the same sex in February of that year,
and took it to the board. The board agreed, stating that his action would
contradict Catholic teachings on homosexuality.
With prom right around the corner, Hall took the school
board to court in a two-day hearing beginning on May 6. His lawyer argued that
the denial was opposing the Ontario Education Act, which states no student is
to be discriminated against. School is a fundamental part of any young person’s
life, and they should not be attending a place where they feel uncomfortable.
The school board shot back, arguing that it was Hall’s choice to go to a
Catholic school. His lawyer opposed, stating that any organization that
requires and uses public funding have to respect the same laws, including those
concerning discrimination, as any other public institution. These arguments
continued, and the court had to make a choice. On May 10, the court decided in
favour of Hall, and he and Dumond attended the prom that evening. Hall also
launched a $100,000 lawsuit against the school board. For months after, he was
regarded as one of the heroes of the gay community.
Prom is a time for the celebration of a new generation:
there are success stories; however there are some shockers as well. In 2009
(this requires a repetition: 2009),
Montgomery County High School in Georgia, USA, held two proms: one for black
students, and one for white students. Students study together for years,
anticipating graduation and prom, yet the ghost that haunts America’s past
insists on leaving its very impacting, cruel footprint on secondary schools. A
handful of towns in the southern United States still insist that two proms must
be held.
The election of Barack Obama did not do much to change
this; in the southern United States his win was met with cold silences of
disapproval. Outside Montgomery County High School at the white prom, most
black students gathered to show moral support for their closest friends inside.
Most of the students are not discriminatory at all; it is only the teachers and
parents who forbid unnecessary interaction between the races. This case
received excessive media attention, and MCHS held an integrated prom the
following year. Three years later, African-Americans are still facing
discrimination in Georgia, Tennessee, and other southern states in the US.
Prom has evolved from debutantes prancing around in fancy
gowns to debutantes that are a little younger prancing around in dresses that
are a little shorter. Likewise, the rules and ideologies of proms have not
changed much. Celebrating the end of 12 successful years of school should be
something that everyone can honour together, without homophobia or racial
discrimination.
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