Tharptown student allowed to bring her girlfriend to prom

By Staff
Nathan Strickland
Tharptown High School is under fire from the American Civil Liberties Union after initially refusing to let a female student attend this year's school prom with her girlfriend.
Cynthia Stewart, 17, says at first the prom was canceled for everyone.
"Last week they canceled prom altogether. But then they announced Monday that they were going to have it again."
Stewart says school officials decided to reinstate the prom but would keep her from attending if she decided to bring her girlfriend.
She believes the whole thing is unfair.
"It really upset me, its not that they were just taking away my prom they were taking away everyone else's prom and the fact they wouldn't let me bring my girlfriend just hurt me. That hurt me more than anything, because they were saying I couldn't do something because of the way I am." Stewart said.
"It really hurt my feelings."
ACLU attorney Hank Sherrod says the school is wrong in this instance.
"It is against the law for the school to discriminate against anyone," he said.
"The prom is a school government benefit and they cannot discriminate against anyone based on sexuality, gender, race or anything of that matter."
Franklin County Superintendent Gary Williams says the situation is under control.
"I received the letter from the ACLU on Tuesday saying we were violating her rights," he said.
"My assistant superintendent, Donald Borden, spoke with the principal Thursday morning and we made the decision to let the girl bring her friend."
The Tharptown prom is scheduled for March 2010 at the Listerhill Credit Union Auditorium located in Sheffield.