Mississippi high school student and proud lesbian Ceara Sturgis was erased from her yearbook because she wore a tuxedo, reports the Jackson Free Press.

17-year-old Sturgis, a senior at Wesson Attendance Center, says officials pulled her picture from the publication and erased all traces of her.

The Mississippi ACLU wrote a letter in October demanding the school use the submitted photo, but officials would not concede. However, Sturgis' mother expected at least a reference to her daughter on the senior page.

"They didn't even put her name in it," said her mother Veronica Rodriguez. "I was so furious when she told me about it. Ceara started crying and I told her to suck it up. Is that not pathetic for them to do that? Yet again, they have crapped on her and made her feel alienated."

"It's like she's nobody there, even though she's gone to school there for 12 years. They mentioned none of her accolades, even though she's one of the smartest students there with wonderful grades. They've got kids in the book that have been busted for drugs. There's even a picture of one of the seniors who dropped out of school. I don't get it. Ceara is a top student. Why would they do this to her?" she added.

Rodriguez doesn't blame the students, but she feels it was the adults that have caused her daughter so much pain.

"She basically grew up here, but she feels so isolated. And it's not the students. The students love and accept her," Rodriguez said. "The kids even nominated her for prom queen, but she ducked out, knowing the officials would never let her be prom queen."

Sturgis is a standout student at her K-12 school of about 1,000 students. She is a National Honor Society member, active in school athletics, band and other extracurricular activities.

"I feel like I'm not important, that the school is dismissing who I am as a gay student and that they don't even care about me. All I want is to be able to be me, and to be included in the yearbook," Sturgis said back in October.  

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