Paige Shacklett

The Republic | azcentral.com

Students at Willow Canyon High School in Surprise are banding together behind a lesbian couple denied the opportunity to be nominated as homecoming queen and queen due to a school practice where homecoming royalty must be made up of a male and female pair.

Supporters of the couple say any ballots nominating the couple for homecoming royalty were discounted in a recent poll of students.

"We're tired of the social normality that the king and queen have to be male and female," said junior Kody Jiles, who added that it was unfair for the school to void student ballots.

Senior Samantha Breedveld said she supports the couple and is discouraged by her school's opposition to having a same-sex king and queen.

"You're our school, you're meant to support your students, not shut them down saying you're only supposed to do this," Breedveld said. "It's just wrong." Breedveld said Monday just hours before homecoming week kicked off with a powder-puff game later that night.

The Dysart Unified School District responded with a statement, saying the high school's homecoming traditions have been in place for years and that they work with students on the planning for these events.

"The Willow Canyon High School students do not elect a couple as Homecoming Queen and King, rather individual students self-nominate or are nominated to run for Homecoming Queen or for Homecoming King," the statement said. "Students can nominate themselves or another student. One person is voted in by fellow students to represent female students at homecoming and one male student is voted in by the students to represent the boys. Who that female and male student is, is up to the student vote."

The same-sex couple whose ballots were deemed invalid by administrators were not available for comment.



Aaron Brown, a sophomore at Willow Canyon, said while the tradition of homecoming may be important to school officials, they should consider student opinions.

"This is what students want and what they are doing is basically discrimination," Brown said.

Jiles and Breedveld agreed that change is unavoidable and not always a bad thing.

"They have to realize that there are going to be gays and lesbians out there," Breedveld said. "They can't basically say, 'We don't want you. You can't do this, or we will ignore (your) existence'."

Homecoming week at Willow Canyon began Monday night with a powder-puff football game.