Posted on 10/28/2007 3:35:36 PM PDT by mngran2
Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the royalty of Davis Senior High School's junior class: Brandon Raphael and his prince, Kiernan Gatewood. For what appears to be the first time in school history, the Davis Senior High student body has elected a gay couple into homecoming royalty. With each boasting a white sash declaring his title as "Prince," the two 16-year-olds rode through the city of Davis on a recent Friday afternoon in the school's annual homecoming parade.
They stood in the back of a pickup truck, arm-in-arm, smiling warmly despite the rain.
"People were so excited for us," Gatewood said of the couple's victory, announced a few weeks ago. "We were a little surprised, but Davis ..."
"Is a liberal town," interrupts his boyfriend of four months, Raphael. "Go 10 miles in any other direction and you'll get some other feeling."
Indeed, the news might surprise few in Davis, a city embraced and, at times, mocked for its liberal leanings.
But students and adults cheering on the boys recognized their election as a meaningful milestone.
Lai-San Seto, advocacy coordinator for the San Francisco-based Gay-Straight Alliance Network, said the Davis Senior High homecoming election is not the first case of gay students bucking tradition.
But it remains far from the norm, Seto said.
And usually by the time she hears about such things, they've become a controversy within their community.
"It's a sign that LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgenderand queer) people are getting recognized everywhere," she said. "LGBTQ are considered vital members of the school community and are able to participate in school events in the same full way that their straight fellow students are able to." Seto applauded the Davis Senior High student body for their acceptance — and the school administration for being "open-minded."
In the weeks since officials announced the homecoming court, there's been no public outcry — not by campus leaders, not by students and not by the community.
Students said they were encouraged that the election was not an issue for campus administrators. They said they were less surprised that a gay couple would win than they were that officials allowed it to happen.
"I thought the administration would have more to say about it," Raphael said.
Principal Michael Cawley declined to comment on the boys' election, saying only that he hoped to keep the issue "low-key."
Students, however, were eager to talk. They piled atop floats and lined the parade route to show their school spirit, armed with air horns and fistfuls of candy.
Some have been celebrating their friends' landmark victory for days.
"I think it's just such a good thing for our school. Just knowing that the other kids recognize them as a couple and would vote for a gay couple to be prince and prince of homecoming. ... I don't know, I just think it's awesome," said senior Chandler Fox, co-president of the campus Gay-Straight Alliance. "I want people to know about it so maybe it can happen at another school."
Decked out in Davis Senior High's colors of blue and black, sophomore Charlotte ter Haar and two friends agreed that the election was significant because it came straight from the students — Raphael and Gatewood won in a write-in ballot election.
Couples could campaign for their class titles — king and queen for seniors, prince and prince(ss?) for juniors, etc. — but no names appeared on the ballot. Students wrote in their own candidates.
"The students voted for who they wanted to win," ter Haar said.
Parent Lorna Bernard said she was taken aback by the news — only because in her day, a gay couple stood to be harassed by their peers, not elected.
But Raphael and Gatewood, she said, are "not just accepted, they're popular — popular enough to be elected as homecoming princes."
And that, she said, is "really cool."
As for the boys, they said they campaigned hard in anticipation of the election. But their goal, they said, was not to make a political statement.
"We wanted to be nominated and win," Raphael said.
Added Gatewood: "Just like anybody else."
I don’t know about you but I was straight before I was sexually active.
I imagine many voted just to create the novelty result, without any real regard for whether or not they actually, personally, liked either of the “princes”. One only has to remember their own high school days to realize how much, and how easily, students that age manufacture, join or become part of a “causes”, even trivial and silly ones.
Okay, how did a guy get nominated for Queen? That’s gender specific. He wasn’t even eligible. This is now obviously sexual in nature rather than just about electing a King and Queen - they were elected as a gay couple, not as two students winning the respective titles for their homecoming. Are you really unable to see the very clear distinction here? Think, please.
The liberal indoctrination is working swimmingly at Davis High School. I’m surprised Governor Schwartzenegger didn’t show up to join in the festivities.
As ridiculous a statement as you can find. Here's a few more to go along with it:
"Thanksgiving day dinners aren't about tradition, but rather they are about giving thanks and spending time eating a meal with your family."
"Presidential inaugural balls aren't about tradition, but rather a bunch of people getting together to dance after the President is inaugurated."
"Sweet 16 parties aren't about tradition, but rather a person and their friends and family getting together to celebrate his/her 16th birthday."
There was someone at my HS who acted gay. Really gay. He was heavily into drama, spoke with a noticable lisp. Some other kids (mostly but not all boys) made fun of him when he wasn't around, but never, so far as I know, to his face. I didn't know him; he was a year older. I was around him fairly frequently because I was big into music, played in all the show bands, spent my free time in the band room.
Turned out, he was gay. He died of AIDS in the '80's.
I've lost track who this is to, but maybe some don't want us to, but we do, or did, it's late, anyway I'd guess somewhere between the junior and senior year, a good number have had sex. Including me. Wasn't the best sex, but hey, I drove a sports car.
The two are nothing but ‘suck-ups’!
“If only they knew, that for the vast majority of kids who voted for them, they are a joke and are being laughed at behind their backs.”
I hope you’re right, but I don’t think so. Kids today have been trained to think of GLBTs as “victims” and that this movement constitutes some type of civil rights movement. Anyone who opposes it is hateful, etc., etc., and aren’t they heroic for supporting them.
I think that we’ve gone far down the slippery slope. Like alcoholics, we’ll need to hit bottom before things get better. I hope I’m wrong.
“King & Queen are sort of gender specific, aren’t they?”
The feminists tell us that gender is socially constructed. Nothing in reality supports it, but social policy is bent around this theory.
I think you’ve got something. I do think that despite lesbian activists, the direction this is going is anti-woman. There is a snide dismissal of women among a lot of homosexual display. Gay fashion designers delight in making women look absurd. Theater departments use women as objects of derision if at all. Women-hating is becoming less subtle in gay circles.
On the one hand, I don’t support beating up people. On the other hand, social stigmas serve a useful purpose. Using the anus for sexual purposes is very unhealthy from a public health standpoint and it’s good for public health to discourage the practice.
“the school authorities should cancel homecoming, and all other extracurricular activities. for the year. Teach those young punks a lesson.”
In this day and age, school authorities could be congratulating them.
I was told, but have been unable to confirm, that Selma High School (AL) chose a pregnant Homecoming Queen a few weeks ago.
On January 1, 2008, it will be mandatory to allow this to happen - in fact it will be against the law to discourage it. SB 777
All the more sad that you are bragging about it now.
Welcome to FR.
It is better to trust in God, than to trust in Princes.
Two “Kings” would be semantically equivalent, but there’s no historic precedent for that, which I am aware of.
Davis, CA is a college town, UC-Davis, half of the population consists of stdents, when you add in faculty and staff there is almost nothing else there. It is located between SF and Sacramento. In its politics, it makes San Francisco look like Midland, TX.
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