I usually don't make pleas like this, but I'm asking for some of my fellow kossaks to get involved with this issue.
"Kelli Davis, 18, had her senior class photo taken in a tuxedo top and bow-tie outfit provided for boys rather than the gown-like drape and pearls provided for girls. The school's principal decided it could not appear in the yearbook because she didn't follow the dress code.
Kelli, a straight-A student with no discipline problems, is a self-proclaimed lesbian. She said she was uncomfortable to have her chest exposed in the photo.
'Because that's me, you know. That represents me. The drape does not,' Davis said. 'They're not accepting me, that's the whole reason we're here.'"
http://www.local6.com/news/4232902/detail.html
The principal of Fleming Island High School demands that the reason Kelli is kicked out of the yearbook is because she is violating Fleming Island High's yearbook precedent. Except... there is no precedent! This is the first graduating class of Fleming Island High!
I don't know Kelli, but she lives in the greater Jacksonville Area, less than 30 minutes from where I grew up. The local progressive paper has been following closely, but there is only so much we can do in such a conservative part of Florida!
I would ask my fellow DailyKos-ers to please, if you've got a few extra minutes, get involved with this fight! Perhaps this is the reason why over half of High Schoolers think free speech should be regulated.. because they are censored in high school!
Here is the photo in question of Kelli:
The school won't even let her buy a $700 ad in the back of the yearbook to put her picture in with her classmates!
Please write, call, or whatever!
Fleming Island High School * 2233 Village Square Parkway * Orange Park, FL 32003
Telephone 904-541-2100 * Fax 904-541-2110
Principal: Sam Ward sward@mail.clay.k12.fl.us