Girl in tuxedo denied a place in school yearbook

**Honey** · October 22nd, 2009, 09:39 PM

Ceara Sturgis wears a tux in her preferred yearbook photo, which officials won't run.

JACKSON, Miss. — Veronica Rodriguez describes her daughter, 17-year-old Ceara Sturgis, as "a perfect child": a straight-A student, a goalie on the soccer team, a trumpet player in the band and active in Students Against Destructive Decisions.
Sturgis also is gay and feels more comfortable in boys' clothes, her mother says. So Rodriguez supported her daughter's decision to wear a tuxedo, rather than the drape customary for girls, when she had her senior portrait made in July. Now she is battling officials at Wesson Attendance Center in the Copiah County (Miss.) School District. Rodriguez said she received a letter from the school in August stating that only boys could wear tuxedos and have since refused to include the photo in the school yearbook.
The conflict is one of several this year involving how school districts handle cross-dressing students.
"The yearbook is not for the parents or the teachers. It's for the students," Rodriguez said. "She's not a troublemaker. She is gay."
Superintendent Ricky Clopton said the school district's attorney has assured him they are within their rights to exclude the photo.

Sturgis said she has received support from classmates and people around the nation. "It's really an amazing feeling," she said.
The Mississippi chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union warned the district that they are violating Sturgis' constitutionally protected freedom of expression, legal director Kristy Bennett said.
Candace Gingrich of the Human Rights Campaign, which advocates on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, said it is not uncommon for LGBT students to clash with school officials on this issue. "It's a matter of self-expression," she said. Other school conflicts this year:
•In Waldorf, Md., a Westlake High senior was denied the option of wearing a tuxedo for her yearbook photo. Her mother complained, and the school reversed the decision after discovering other schools had allowed it, schools spokeswoman Katie O'Malley-Simpson said.
•In Dunnellon, Fla., a 16-year-old boy was sent home in March for violating Marion County School District dress code by wearing makeup, high-heeled boots and a bra. The policy on the district website states that students must dress "in keeping with their gender." Kathy Richardson, of the school district, said the boy's cross-dressing was an isolated event.
•In Lebanon, Ind., school officials in March reversed a ban on cross-dressing when a female senior decided to wear a tux to the prom. The girl sued the district, but the issue was settled when a "gender-neutral" policy was adopted. "We were OK with making that switch," Lebanon High Principal Kevin O'Rourke said.
In Sturgis' case, the deadline for yearbook photos was Sept. 30. Rodriguez hopes the school will reconsider.

Girl in tuxedo denied a place in school yearbook - USATODAY.com

**Grimmlok** · October 22nd, 2009, 09:44 PM

i would have banned her for that HAIR, good fucking god

**McJag** · October 22nd, 2009, 10:31 PM

Originally Posted by Grimmlok

i would have banned her for that HAIR, good fucking god

Well-it is a bold statement....

**mrs.v** · October 22nd, 2009, 10:57 PM

Originally Posted by Grimmlok

i would have banned her for that HAIR, good fucking god

yeah,I know,didn't even notice the tuxedo..

**Grimmlok** · October 22nd, 2009, 10:59 PM

Dorothy Hamill is rolling in her grave

**Charmed Hour** · October 22nd, 2009, 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by Grimmlok

i would have banned her for that HAIR, good fucking god

LMFAO. My 12 year old nephew has the same do. Allegedly, it's in style. Looks better on him too.

**PoisonGirl** · October 22nd, 2009, 11:25 PM

Looks like a boy to me, cuz the hair.

**Grimmlok** · October 23rd, 2009, 12:55 AM

Originally Posted by Charmed Hour

LMFAO. My 12 year old nephew has the same do. Allegedly, it's in style. Looks better on him too.

yes, all stupid teenagers have the same awful hair which is the same hair from 1981 that looked stupid back then.

Why they think it's cool now is beyond me. It looks so retarded, and they're going to regret it in 2 years like everybody else does now.

**yanna** · October 23rd, 2009, 03:05 AM

Yeah... the tuxedo didn't even register... I was too busy cringing at the hair

**Charmed Hour** · October 23rd, 2009, 06:25 AM

Originally Posted by Grimmlok

yes, all stupid teenagers have the same awful hair which is the same hair from 1981 that looked stupid back then.

Why they think it's cool now is beyond me. It looks so retarded, and they're going to regret it in 2 years like everybody else does now.

Personally, I hate the whole "surfer" hairstyle. I constantly Facebook him and call him just to tell him to get a haircut. I think I spent too many years in Catholic schools where the boys pretty much had shaved heads, I find long hair on men pretty repulsive.