Students at Tamalpais High School in Marin County, Calif. want give Constance McMillen the chance to attend prom with her girlfriend so they sent her an invitation.
"At this point, I'm hoping that she'll agree to come," said Sarah Schwartz, a Tam High senior who launched the effort to invite McMillen to the Mill Valley school's prom. "But even if she doesn't, I feel there's been a wonderful effort by this community and a statement that we're willing to stand behind her bravery, and accept her for who she is."
According to the Marin Independent Journal, students at the Marin County school are hoping to give McMillen the prom she deserves after the ACLU and federal court did not reinstate the Itawamba Agricultural High School April 2 prom.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson ruled that canceling the prom had violated McMillen's civil rights, and that he would hold a trial on the issue.
Schwartz, 17, sent McMillen an invitation to attend Tam High's prom with her girlfriend on May 16. She has not received a reply.
"Being in my senior year, I know how important it is to have a prom," said Schwartz. "To have that taken away because the people around you don't accept you didn't feel fair at all. I felt I needed to do something."
"In Mill Valley in general and at Tamalpais High School in particular, we've got a lot of thoughtful students and a very caring, activist-type community. So her request didn't completely surprise me," said Tam High Principal Tom Drescher. "It seems like nationally people have been reaching out to Constance, and what our student is looking to do falls in line with that. The school supports what she is doing."
Schwartz said she was particularly interested in McMillen's dilemma because two of her own friends recently came out. The support her friends received stood in drastic contrast to the Mississippi school district's decision, she said.
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