Park senior doesn't see a problem; administrators see it differently
BY PAUL SLOTH
Journal Times | Posted: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 12:00 am
RACINE - Uriel Gomez didn't set out to run for prom queen. He's a young man, and Park High School might not be ready for that.
A star football player in a skirt is one thing. An honor student and thespian in a tiara at prom is something entirely different.
Earlier this week, enough of Gomez's classmates nominated him to a short list of seniors who might get on the prom court. His name landed on the girls' side, which meant he could be voted prom queen.
School administrators were less than thrilled by the prospect and wouldn't let him proceed.
This is Racine, after all, subject of the documentary film "The World's Best Prom." The spring formal is serious business in this part of the globe.
Gomez, 18, didn't expect it. He now finds himself in a strange battle. He wants to be on the ballot and hasn't heard a good reason why he shouldn't be included.
If former Park High and current University of Wisconsin football standout John Clay could dress in women's clothing and win the school's "Miss Legs," a homecoming tradition, Gomez and his friends don't understand why he can't be prom queen, especially if his classmates vote for him.
"It's not like I'm forcing myself on the ballot," Gomez said. "I did it legitimately and I did it
fairly."
Students at Park started voting this week for the seniors who might be elected to the school's prom court. It's early in the process that will ultimately lead to the five boys and five girls who will make up the court.
From that group, students will choose the prom king and queen. The school's prom is May 17.
A teacher told Gomez and his best friend, Matthew Harris, to take their case to school administrators. The two found themselves in the office of Jim Kerkvliet, the school's activities director. Gomez wanted to know if he could have his name on the girl's side.
"No, don't do it," Kerkvliet said he told Gomez and a friend. "I don't really want to go there.
"They don't see the public perspective on how this might look."
Gomez, a senior at Park, has been called a lot of things since he first told his friends he was gay. He doesn't exactly remember the first time someone called him "queen."
It was sometime his freshman year, probably the worst year for Gomez, as far as accepting who he was and getting his friends to understand. He lost a lot of friends that year.
"After that I was like, 'You know what, no, OK, if you're going to call me a queen I might as well have a good title with it … prom queen,' " Gomez said. "Since the beginning of freshman year I've been trying to take things in stride and trying not to be so negative about it."
Gomez has learned to navigate the complicated minefield that high school can be, especially for an openly gay student. He's been called worse. Queen never seemed that bad, he said.
He came out to his friends shortly before his freshman year. Four years later, Gomez, is probably Park High School's most recognizable gay student.
It's not something he tries to shove in people's faces, he says. It's not something he's ever hidden from. Gomez is comfortable, confident and happy to talk about life. Being gay doesn't define him. There is so much more going on in his life.
Gomez is going to prom with his friend, Madeline Thompson, a Park graduate. He has a nice suit in mind. He is renting a bus to go to prom with a large group of friends, including Harris, who has stood by his friend's side for four years.
"Uriel's not doing this to ruin anybody else's prom. He's not doing this to make girls cry," Harris said. "If anything, he's doing this to make his prom more memorable."