District still says no to lesbian in tux photo

State News

October 17, 2009

Anonymous Picayune Item Sat Oct 17, 2009, 07:28 PM CDT

Jackson — A Mississippi school superintendent said Friday that previous federal court rulings back up a principal’s decision to keep a teenage lesbian’s picture out of a high school yearbook.

The Copiah County School District has been threatened with legal action over the school’s refusal to include the picture of 17-year-old Ceara Sturgis wearing a tuxedo. Female students at Wesson Attendance Center dress have traditionally worn drapes in yearbook photos, while males have worn tuxedos.

The district’s superintendent, Rickey Clopton, said Friday that federal court decisions support the policy at the K-12 school located in the town of Wesson, about 50 miles south of Jackson.

“We are informed by counsel that this exact issue has been litigated in federal court. The decisions of the federal courts completely support the policy of the district in this regard,” Clopton said in a statement released to the Copiah County Courier, a weekly newspaper.

Clopton wouldn’t return calls Friday from The Associated Press.

Sturgis is a gay student who dresses in male clothing. She submitted a senior photograph for the yearbook dressed in a tuxedo. Sturgis said wearing a drape, like the other female seniors, was a misrepresentation of how she identifies herself.

“What I wear shouldn’t matter. I get to decide how I look in my photo, not the school,” Sturgis said in a statement to the AP.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi has issued a demand letter to the district, telling officials that the teen’s First Amendment rights were violated. Kristy L. Bennett, the organization’s legal director, said litigation against the district could follow if Sturgis’ photograph isn’t accepted.

There’s no clear policy on the issue in the student handbook, according to the ACLU.

In his statement posted on the Web site of the local newspaper, Clopton didn’t cite any federal cases that support the policy. He said the district’s position “is not arbitrary, capricious or unlawful, but it’s based upon sound educational policy and legal precedent.”

The ACLU didn’t immediately comment on Friday about Clopton’s statement.

The owner of the studio where the photograph was taken, Tom Bruckner of Jackson, said he would not release the image to the media, although the image has been used by several news outlets.

Veronica Rodriguez, the mother of Sturgis, said this week that even if the school accepted the photograph she didn’t know if that would settle the issue.

“They really hurt her,” Rodriguez said.

Text Only

State News

MHP on patrol for holiday
Even though there has been a remarkable reduction in the number of fatalities in Mississippi over the past seven years, last year’s Memorial Day Weekend was particularly deadly.

May 26, 2012
Forecasters: 9 to 15 storms this hurricane season
U.S. forecasters predicted Thursday that this year’s Atlantic hurricane season would produce a normal number of about nine to 15 tropical storms.
As many as four to eight of those storms could strengthen into hurricanes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s initial outlook for the six-month storm season that officially begins June 1. One to three of those could become major hurricanes with top winds of 111 mph or higher.

May 25, 2012
Miss. court sets execution dates for 2 of 3 men
Mississippi will not execute three men on three consecutive days in June, after the state Supreme Court set execution dates a week apart for two men and declined to set a date for a third.

May 25, 2012
New, old law makers tout legislative successes
Four state law makers held a legislative review for members of the Greater Picayune Area Chamber of Commerce at the newly opened Southern Char restaurant Tuesday night to share with business owners information about new bills and laws that have been passed.

May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Prosecutors: Delay sentencing in hate crime case
Federal prosecutors want to delay the sentencing of three white men who pleaded guilty to hate crime charges stemming from a months-long pattern of harassing blacks that culminated in the fatal rundown of James Craig Anderson.

May 24, 2012
Bryant signs laws affecting students and veterans
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed a bill Wednesday that requires kindergarteners or first-graders to be tested for dyslexia, a reading disorder that can sometimes go undiagnosed for years and leave children struggling to learn.

May 24, 2012
Losing bidder sues over revised bid at state port
A contract dispute has put on hold elevation work at the state port in Gulfport.
The port’s West Pier is being expanded, elevated and updated to house a modern containerized cargo operation. When completed, the pier will include 180 acres elevated for storm-surge protection by 15 feet, to 25 feet above sea level.

May 23, 2012
Mom of man in sisters abduction gets new charge
Prosecutors have increased the severity of charges against the mother of a man who abducted two young Tennessee girls after he killed their mother and oldest sister.

May 23, 2012
Sheriff: Gang started prison riot in Mississippi
A gang fight in a prison for illegal immigrants quickly escalated into a riot involving as many as 300 inmates, some lashing out with sticks or homemade knives as the uprising spread through the sprawling prison, a sheriff said.

May 22, 2012
Miss. voter ID bill signed, awaits feds’ scrutiny
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Thursday signed a bill requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, but it’s unclear whether it will become law.

May 18, 2012
More State News Headlines

State News

Search Results

District still says no to lesbian in tux photo

Site Map

Contact Us