Articles tagged with: Pride Prom
Anchorage Pride Prom 2012: Steampunk! — Saturday night at Out North
Join Anchorage and Mat-Su area youth this Saturday night, April 21, for Anchorage Pride Prom 2012. This year’s theme: Steampunk!
Saturday night in Anchorage: Three Valentine’s events
A busy Anchorage weekend, with 3 Valentine-themed events on Saturday, Feb. 11: Joani LaChoy’s Champagne Cabaret (benefits ICOAA’s Scholarship Fund and Identity, Inc.); the All Grrlz Valentine Dance; and the Naughty Valentines Drag King Show (benefits Pride Prom).
Bohemian Rhapsody “too gay” for Wasilla? — Beyond the snark, bad situation for gay kids in Mat-Su schools
Beyond the headline-catching absurdity of the short-lived Wasilla High School ban on “Bohemian Rhapsody,” there’s a more serious reality for LGBT students in the Mat-Su — one which hasn’t gained so much media attention.
Gay pride flags thrown in mud outside youth dance
136 queer and allied youth from Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley attended the Glee-themed Pride Prom last weekend at Out North – and at least one vandal, who took down four of the five rainbow flags decorating the outside of the building. A flag was hung upside down, others were thrown on the ground in the mud.
Gleek out at Anchorage Pride Prom
Pride Prom 2011 will be fabulous, with live performances in the Glee theme, a prize for best costume, and plenty of music to keep you dancing ’til midnight!
The annual youth dance is open to teens who support the LGBTQ community. It is drug-free and alcohol-free, and ID’s will be checked.
The costume contest will be judged by an expert panel for best in-character Glee costume, and the audience will get to decide the final contest winner.
Dress to impress (it’s officially semi-formal, prom dresses and suits are fine but not required) or dress as your favorite Glee character. Either way, be ready to dance.
Pride Prom 2011 will be held at Out North, a community theater and art space located kitty corner from Costco on Debarr and Bragaw. Parking is available on Primrose Street. (Do NOT park at the church next to Out North.) The evening is hosted by Identity Inc, with thanks to Out North, ICOAA, PFLAG, AMP, and ADK’s Deejays.
Come meet new teens and have a great time with your friends!
Pride Prom 2011
Saturday, April 23
8pm – midnight
Ages: 14-19
Cost: $10
Where: Out North Theater
3800 Debarr Rd, Anchorage
Court upholds right to attend Prom with a same sex date
Students have a First Amendment right to bring a same-sex date and wear gender non-conforming clothes to the prom, a federal court ruled today. School officials violated Constance McMillen’s rights when they canceled the prom rather than let her attend with her girlfriend and wear a tux.
“All I ever wanted was for my school to treat me and my girlfriend like any other couple that wants to go to prom,” said McMillen, an 18-year-old senior at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Mississippi. “Now we can all get back to things like picking out our prom night outfits and thinking about corsages.”
School officials told McMillen that she could not arrive at the prom with her girlfriend, who is also a student at the school, and that they might be thrown out if any other students complained about their presence. The school board canceled the prom when the ACLU and the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition demanded that the district reverse its decision.
In the 12-page ruling, the court wrote, “The record shows Constance has been openly gay since eighth grade and she intended to communicate a message by wearing a tuxedo and to express her identity through attending prom with a same-sex date. The Court finds this expression and communication of her viewpoint is the type of speech that falls squarely within the purview of the First Amendment. The Court is also of the opinion that the motive behind the School Board’s cancellation of the prom, or withdrawal of their sponsorship, was Constance’s requests and the ACLU’s demand letter sent on her behalf.” Further, the court says that since the school represented the private prom being organized by parents at a furniture store as open to all students, then the court expects that event will indeed invite McMillen and her girlfriend.
McMillen said that she plans to attend the “private” prom, but has also long planned to attend the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition’s Second Chance Prom, to be held Saturday, May 8 in Tupelo. That event, sponsored by Green Day, Tonic.com, Iron Chef Cat Cora, and Lance Bass, among others, will be open to all LGBT students in the state, as well as straight students who are LGBT-supportive. The MSSC and the ACLU deal every year with complaints from LGBT students all over Mississippi who face resistance from their schools about bringing same-sex dates to proms or who don’t feel safe going to their own school proms.
“Today’s ruling isn’t just a win for Constance and her girlfriend – it’s a win for all the students at her school, and for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students who just want to be able to be themselves at school without being treated unfairly,” said Kristy Bennett, Legal Director of the ACLU of Mississippi. “Public schools can’t just stomp on students’ free expression rights just because they don’t want to deal with these students, and if schools do try to do that they’ll be dealing with us.”
In Alaska, some LGBT students bring same sex dates to their school prom, if they feel comfortable doing that. Many don’t attend prom or bring an opposite sex friend to fit in. But they have the right to bring a same sex date, if they want to.
Alaska also has an alternate prom for LGBT students and their high school allies. The annual Pride Prom is the closing event for Day of Silence/Night of Noise, organized in Anchorage by the Gay-Straight Alliance student clubs.
Anchorage Pride Prom 09
