Prom crowning ignites division at Ohio high school

Dayton, Ohio (WDTN) – Kettering Fairmont High School in Kettering, Ohio made history by crowning two LGBTQ+ students, seniors Dyse Sean Conley and Rosie Greene, as Prom King and Queen.

Now the school board is listening to local residents who want to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.

Conley and Green were chosen for honor by their classmates at school. Most people supported it, but some people were unhappy with the results of the vote, Conley said.

“Even when I was given the crown and put my head on, there was a lot of booing in the crowd,” Conley said. I was very grateful.”

Despite support from colleagues, Conley and non-binary senior Rosie Green received negative feedback online. Conley was hurt and took time to heal.

“It’s very humiliating,” Conley said. “It takes a lot for an individual to come back to themselves, to believe in themselves, to be fully confident, and not let such things separate them from who they are as a person. .”

Ahead of a local school board meeting, friends and allies rallied to support the students.

“Absolutely, every child should have the opportunity to be prom king, prom queen, whatever they want to be. That’s why I support the school and the students who vote for prom queen and who they want to be.” said Jazmine Brown, a class of 2014 at Kettering Fairmont High School. “I am happy that the community is supporting these children. increase.”

During the meeting, some community members shared different opinions. Local resident Joe Oberholser believes that the prom king and queen should be biologically male and female.

“For all the history of the world, until the last few years it has been understood to some degree,” Oberholser said. “So it’s been questioned for some reason the last few years. And I don’t think that’s a good thing for society.”

The Kettering Municipal School Board of Education has no intention of taking any action, as it is common for the student council to run the prom and all plans.