LOUSIANA: Lesbian High School Student Told She Can’t Wear Tuxedo To Her Prom

Via the Monroe News-Star:

Carroll High School senior Claudetteia Love, an openly gay student and top academic scholar, won’t attend the school’s prom this year because the school won’t allow her to wear a tuxedo. The school says it’s simply a dress code, but Love said the school’s prohibition is more about her sexual orientation than her fashion choices. Friday, she sat quietly crying in her living room as she talked about missing one of the signature events of her senior year. The prom is April 24. “I told my mom, ‘They’re using me. They put me in all these honors and advanced placement classes so I can take all of these tests and get good grades and better the school, but when it’s time for me to celebrate the fact that I’ve accomplished what I need to accomplish and I’m about to graduate, they don’t want to let me do it, the way I want to,” she said.

Love has earned a full academic scholarship to Jackson State University. The head of the local school board has vowed to attempt to intervene on her behalf.