Mont. Co. high school to vote for 'gender-neutral' homecoming court rather than 'king' and 'queen'
BETHESDA, Md. - A Maryland high school is going against tradition this prom season by allowing students to vote for a gender-neutral homecoming court rather than a conventional 'king' and 'queen.'
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, the first school in Montgomery County to make such a change, will tally the votes ahead of its homecoming football game on October 7th.
The change means that each grade will vote for two classmates with the top two being crowned at homecoming. The top picks could be two boys, two girls, a boy and a girl, or a transgender couple.
Jacob Rains, president of the Student Government Association, told the Washington Post that the change was made in an effort to be more inclusive to the school's LGBT community.
"It just felt like this was the right time to do this," Rains told the Post. "We looked closely and decided: 'Hey, this is a problem with the current system, and we should go and solve it.' "
Rains said the decision was met with some online resistance, but said overall, the idea was supported. He also said that the school will be opening another gender-neutral bathroom in the near future.
"I think it will catch on though," said Steve Chenevey during a discussion on GoodDayDC. "I think you'll see a lot more school doing this in the future."
"I don't really see why anyone would have a problem with this," Allison Seymour said. "I really don't."
FOX 5's Maureen Umeh said that when she first read the story she questioned why the need to do away with the 'king' and 'queen.' But after thinking about the meaning behind the change, she changed her tune. "Why not make everyone feel important. High school can be a trying time."
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