Margo Stedman is a student in charge of selling
tickets to the junior prom. Because of past problems with
students attending the prom stag, for several years tickets
have been sold only to couples. Margo has asked to see you
because Judy Markham and Patty Cooper, both juniors, insist
that they be sold tickets to the junior prom as a couple.
They have declared that they are lesbian lovers. Tickets to
the junior prom have always been sold only to heterogeneous
couples.
Margo says that everyone has known about Judy and Patty for
a long time and no one has ever bothered them. She believes
that the two girls are trying to start some sort of crusade.
She has heard that the courts ordered a school somewhere else
to allow a male gay couple to attend a prom, and she imagines
that she will have no choice but to sell them the tickets.
What she wants is to keep the prom from becoming a circus.
She doesn’t personally care what sort of relationship
Judy and Patty have or even whether they come to the prom
together. What she wants is to make sure that their coming
doesn’t ruin the event for everyone else. She wants
you to speak to the two girls and make sure that their intention
is only to attend the prom like anyone else and not to turn
it into a platform for espousing their life—style.
Case Questions |
| 1. |
Do you believe that gay and
lesbian couples should be allowed to attend formal school-sponsored
dances together? |
| 2. |
Do you believe that the courts would
force you to allow Judy and Patty to attend as a couple
if you attempted to exclude them? |
| 3. |
If Judy and Patty are going to attend
the prom, is there any way you can minimize the impact
of their presence? |
| 4. |
Do you think outside advocacy groups
are likely to descend on your school if Judy and Patty
attend? If they are prevented from attending? If so, what
preparations can you make for dealing with such groups? |
| 5. |
Do you believe that the news media are
likely to inflate the attendance of a lesbian couple at
the prom into more than it is? |
| 6. |
Are you likely to accomplish anything
by talking to the girls? What approach would you take
with them? |
| 7. |
What do you tell Margo, who is sitting
in your office waiting for your response? |
| 8. |
At what point do you notify the superintendent
of the girl’s decision? |
| 9. |
Do you believe that Judy and Patty’s
determination to attend the prom will infringe on the
rights of the other students to have the sort of junior
prom
experience they want? |
| 10. |
Is this still a burning social issue,
or has it begun to lose its potency through repetition? |
| 11. |
How you would respond if a television
reporter and a camera crew requested an interview or suddenly
started taping in front of your school? |
