Uriel Gomez Won't be Prom Queen

Uriel Gomez poses Thursday outside of Park High School. (Photo by Mark Hertzberg of The Journal Times)

Uriel Gomez wanted to be prom queen.

Alas, that will only happen in his dreams.

From the Journal Times:

A Park High School student who thought he might have a shot at being prom queen could still get crowned king.

School officials have said they won’t allow Uriel Gomez, 18, to stay on the girls’ ballot for prom court, which could have put him in the running for queen.

Park students started voting for prom court early this week. With a little encouragement from Gomez and his friends, he ended up getting enough votes to get on the girls’ ballot.

Classmates had nominated Gomez for prom king, too. He might have to settle for a crown instead of a tiara.

“Right now it’s kind of confusing. All I know right now is, I’m on the guys’ side,” Gomez said.

Gomez, a senior at Park, insists the push to keep his name on the list of senior girls who might be chosen prom queen has nothing to do with grabbing “15 minutes of fame.”

It seems like a classic "15 minutes" grab to me.

When Gomez learned he had enough votes that he might get elected to the prom court — on both the boys’ and girls’ sides — he asked a teacher if he could stay on the girls’ side.

The teacher told Gomez, and his friend Matthew Harris, to talk with Jim Kerkvliet, the school’s activities director.

...“The school is standing with the regular policy,” Kerkvliet said. “It’s the same for everything. Boys are boys. Girls are girls.”

Gomez, who is gay, said that isn’t the biggest reason why he asked to stay in the running for prom queen. He was never really given a good reason why he couldn’t, he said. If his classmates voted for him, why not, he figured. Friends agreed.

Whether school officials change their stance, Gomez has support from friends and classmates.

“I don’t think the student voice should be shushed just because (the school) doesn’t agree with it,” said Amanda Peterson, a Park senior and one of Gomez’s friends. “Prom is supposed to be fun, anyway. I don’t see what the problem is.”

Kerkvliet said earlier this week that he did not know anything about Gomez’s sexual orientation.

Gomez did not tell the school’s activities director that he was gay when he asked to keep his name on the girls’ ballot.

Oh come on.

Schools do have rules and policies.

They can't be dismissed by using the excuse that the student voice is being "shushed." Freedom of speech isn't a free-for-all.

I don't think Gomez's civil rights are at issue here.

What's really at issue is his 15 minutes of fame.