Uriel Gomez wanted to be prom queen.
Alas, that will only happen in his dreams.
From the Journal Times:
A Park High School student who thought he might have a shot at being prom queen could still get crowned king.
School officials have said they won’t allow Uriel Gomez, 18, to stay on the girls’ ballot for prom court, which could have put him in the running for queen.
Park students started voting for prom court early this week. With a little encouragement from Gomez and his friends, he ended up getting enough votes to get on the girls’ ballot.
Classmates had nominated Gomez for prom king, too. He might have to settle for a crown instead of a tiara.
“Right now it’s kind of confusing. All I know right now is, I’m on the guys’ side,” Gomez said.
Gomez, a senior at Park, insists the push to keep his name on the list of senior girls who might be chosen prom queen has nothing to do with grabbing “15 minutes of fame.”
It seems like a classic "15 minutes" grab to me.
When Gomez learned he had enough votes that he might get elected to the prom court — on both the boys’ and girls’ sides — he asked a teacher if he could stay on the girls’ side.
The teacher told Gomez, and his friend Matthew Harris, to talk with Jim Kerkvliet, the school’s activities director.
...“The school is standing with the regular policy,” Kerkvliet said. “It’s the same for everything. Boys are boys. Girls are girls.”
Gomez, who is gay, said that isn’t the biggest reason why he asked to stay in the running for prom queen. He was never really given a good reason why he couldn’t, he said. If his classmates voted for him, why not, he figured. Friends agreed.
Whether school officials change their stance, Gomez has support from friends and classmates.
“I don’t think the student voice should be shushed just because (the school) doesn’t agree with it,” said Amanda Peterson, a Park senior and one of Gomez’s friends. “Prom is supposed to be fun, anyway. I don’t see what the problem is.”
Kerkvliet said earlier this week that he did not know anything about Gomez’s sexual orientation.
Gomez did not tell the school’s activities director that he was gay when he asked to keep his name on the girls’ ballot.
Oh come on.
Schools do have rules and policies.
They can't be dismissed by using the excuse that the student voice is being "shushed." Freedom of speech isn't a free-for-all.
I don't think Gomez's civil rights are at issue here.
What's really at issue is his 15 minutes of fame.
9 comments:
i'll say it again (since this is your second post on the subject in two days) if this provokes discussion of our perceptions, traditions, and how these things might change slowly, over time...i think that's a good thing. i don't necessarily think rules need to be changed here. but a healthy discussion of what it's like to be a gay high school kid is absolutely relevant.
i went to high school not far from here. and here's what i remember.
I know Uriel, and the first thing I know is that he is not looking for fifteen minutes of fame, despite the author's cute little misunderstanding. Uriel is not the type who would do that. He hadn't done this for a joke, either. It is a tough decision, and over the past few days I've heard at least ten people say, "Just because you're gay, doesn't make you a woman." And while I don't feel that his freedom at speech is being attacked here, I do feel, however, that this proves that our society is not half as open-minded as it claims to be. Please feel free to contact me at karenaabbott@gmail.com with any flaming.
I don't think any student should be harassed. Attacking a kid for being gay is wrong.
Good for Gomez that he's comfortable in his own skin.
However, his skin isn't female. He shouldn't be in the running for prom queen. That isn't indicative of society not being open-minded.
It's a simple recognition of the distinction of being male and female.
I don't flame. Not my style.
I go to a school with Uriel, and am a good friend of his. The morning of nominations I received a text from Uriel ( along with many of the senior class) asking to vote for him for prom queen. I feel that without the mass text he sent out, he would not have been nominated in the first place. I do know Uriel and I do believe that the only reason he made a bigger deal out of this then necessary was for the immense amount of attention he is receiving. This situation has gotten out of control in my opinion. I feel there is nothing wrong with being homosexual and I have no problem with it. In the end, he is a male-therefore not eligible to be queen.
There's no way I can verify that Uriel sent out a mass text. It would certainly mean that he instigated the whole prom queen thing.
That puts an entirely different spin on this.
Frankly, I think his stunt does a disservice to gay students.
He seems focused on self-promotion.
It is true, uriel did send out a mass text to pretty much everyone asking them to vote for him as prom queen... i was one that also got the text, and i am a junior. he also posted 2 bulletins on myspace saying to vote for him as queen and matt harris as king. I love uriel to death, but, he did bring this upon himself. i'm nt saying he wants 15 minutes of fame, but... he did know this was going to happen.... so all you idiot, like Karen, who say he didnt do it as a joke, you're wrong! He asked many ppl... so mayb you should be a closer friend to him and realize what really went on......
The initial accounts of this story didn't report that Uriel was actively campaigning to be prom queen.
Thanks for that additional information.
Well,
if you'd ask me, I'd also say that being gay does not make you a woman, and it would be unfair to give both titles to men, just as it would be unfair to have two prom queens and no king, wouldn't it? But I don't really see the problem with becoming prom king instead. Even though I know that not everybody is as open minded as I am, I think he should rather run for prom king and prove that this title has got nothing to do with sexual orientation.
From my point of view it would even be wrong to vote for him because he is gay, because I think it really shouldn't make any difference. You should vote for him if you think he's a good choice and for no other reason. That he is gay doesn't even seem worth mentioning to me. I don't see that it has got anything to do with him running for prom king.
Johannes Holstein, Germany
I agree.
Uriel did not belong on the girls' side of the ballot.
He's gay. He's not female.
I see nothing wrong at all with him running for prom king. His sexual orientation is irrelevant.
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