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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Teen lesbians barred |
Current rating: 0 |
by Jesse J. DeConto, Portsmouth (NH) Herald
(No verified email address) |
07 Dec 2001
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DOVER — Last week the seniors at Dover High School selected two girls as their class sweethearts for the yearbook, but the principal said the honor must go to a male-female couple. |
Nicole Salisbury, 17, of Dover, and Ashley Lagasse, 17, of Nottingham, received the most votes of any couple in their class. Like the other students receiving the most votes in various "Senior Superlatives" categories, Nicole and Ashley were to have their picture together in their senior yearbook.
"I was just proud of our classmates," said Nicole. "I was surprised at how many were so open-minded. Then the adults came, and they took that away."
Principal Robert Pedersen maintains that he took nothing away. The rules simply do not allow the students to elect two women as the senior sweethearts.
The seniors voted for a male and a female in each of 20 categories, including: most attractive, nicest eyes, best dressed, best friends (male), best friends (female), best friends (co-ed), sassiest smile, most congenial, most changed since freshman year, least changed since freshman year, biggest flirts, class rebels, most athletic, most spirited, most artistic, most musical, most likely to succeed, best dancer, favorite teacher and class sweethearts.
When the yearbook committee discovered that two girls had won the couple's category, they went to Pedersen for counsel.
"I advised that, according to the ballot, the first couple which qualified, i.e., male-female, ought to be declared the winner," Pedersen said in a written statement issued Monday.
Instead, the yearbook committee decided to eliminate the category altogether. They announced the winners of the other categories to the student body.
"In making my recommendation," wrote Pedersen, "I considered it unfair to change the rules and intent of the balloting after the event."
Said Ashley, "That's just absolutely ridiculous."
And Nicole added, "I personally think it's just an excuse. I think it was the senior class' wish to have us as the class couple."
Ashley said few students paid any attention to the labels "male" and "female." No one knew a lesbian couple couldn't be elected, she said.
"If anybody knew that, they would've changed the rules before the voting had gone on," she said. "A couple is two people. We've been together for two years and three months actually today. We go to dances together and do everything together."
In fact, both girls said they knew many of their classmates were planning to vote for them.
"Our relationship isn't really a secret," said Nicole. "I think there was talk of voting for us, so we knew that we might have a chance of winning ... We have so much support from our classmates and our friends and our families."
Nicole pointed out that the DHS student handbook prohibits treating students differently based on their sexual preference. "I think this is a form of discrimination," said Nicole.
The Dover High School Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) has a meeting scheduled for 2:45 p.m. on Thursday. They plan to discuss how to convince the yearbook committee and administration to recognize Nicole and Ashley in the yearbook.
"We were voted by a majority of our class, and that's how it should be," said Ashley. "I would rather have no couple, because the couple that they put in would not be the class couple."
Ashley said the GSA may lobby the committee to include a picture of the pair elsewhere in the yearbook. "If we had a picture together, I think it would just complete our senior year," she said.
Principal Pedersen said the yearbook committee may put the couple's photograph in the yearbook, and he added that the ballot may change for subsequent senior classes. "There will be some talk of things changing in the future," he said.
As it stands, the yearbook committee will not recognize any class sweethearts but may find a place for a photograph of the girls together in the yearbook.
Although a majority of the seniors voted for Ashley and Nicole, none of those interviewed Monday had.
"I doesn't bother me, but I'm not supporting it either," said senior Chris Grant of Barrington. "Most of the kids don't even care. I've talked about it with some other kids, and they really don't care."
Said another senior from Barrington, Krista Shevenell: "If they won, they should be able to have it. Everybody voted for who they wanted to win."
Copyright © 2001 Seacoast Online
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http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/12_4a.htm
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