Alumni Rally In Support Of Gay Student Barred From Bringing Date To Homecoming
From the 28,000 signatures amassed from a Change.org petition to Tweets of support from Shonda Rhymes and the No H8 Campaign, Lance Sanderson, the Memphis, Tennessee high school student barred from bringing a male date to his Catholic prep school's annual Homecoming dance, has witnessed support far and wide.
"Let Lance dance, let Lance dance," the crowd chanted at the Mid-South Pride Festival on Saturday, where Sanderson was joined by dozens of Christian Brothers High School alumni in a show of support.
"I thought that I'd have my first pride today," Lance Sanderson told WREG Memphis. "I feel like it's a lot of ignorance and just a lack of understanding on their part, and the people that do support me–I think they've really invested time and kind of thought about the issues."
"It's different when you're there with your partner, and I hope he gets that opportunity," said Peter Scully, a CBHS alum who marched alongside Sanderson.
The school posted a letter on its website declaring that the Homecoming dance is no longer "a date dance," citing that mixing boys from other schools in such an open atmosphere "can cause problems."
Sanderson offered the below statement on Twitter in response:
We'll keep our eyes peeled for updates on this story.
