NEWSFLASH:  Former student body president Reuben Lack sues Alpharetta High School alleging he was yanked for asking to change titles of “Prom King & Queen” to “Prom Court,” “so same-sex couple could be elected.”

Former Student Body President Reuben Lack Sues Alpharetta HS After Being Yanked for Seeking to Change Prom Titles if Same-Sex Couple Elected

It’s a little ironic that the local media in metro Atlanta hasn’t really covered this in depth. Reuben Lack claims in a lawsuit that the high school stripped him of his office because he asked the Student Council to change the title of “Prom King and Queen” to “Prom Court,” “so that a same-sex couple could be elected,” if students voted for them. Um, donkeys will fly before any school in the Deep South welcomes a same-sex couple as Prom King-King or Prom Queen-Queen with open arms. I know he wants to exercise his rights, but what about the rights of those students who don’t share his beliefs? Don’t get me wrong, I am all for free speech and freedom of expression, within the confines of the law, but I have to wonder what the general consensus of the student body is in this matter and this isn’t about a student upset he didn’t get his way.

Reuben Lack sued the Fulton County School District, Alpharetta High School principal Shannon Kersey, and AHS Student Council advisers Emily Reiser and Michelle Were, in Federal Court.

Lack is a senior. He was elected in April 2011 as student body president for the 2011-12 academic year. ”At the January 12, 2012, meeting of the student council, Lack introduced a resolution to modify AHS’s ‘Prom King and Queen’ tradition to make it inclusive to gay and lesbian students. Lack suggested a number of options, including changing the tradition simply to ‘Prom Court’ so that a same-sex couple could be elected,” the complaint states.

“Lack followed parliamentary procedure regarding the resolution, opening the floor to student debate about the issue. An extended debate about the issue occurred among the students. Werre, who was present as faculty advisor, interrupted the debate, and demanded that the topic be dropped. She instructed the students to cease discussing the topic, and dictated that the resolution would not be adopted, without any formal vote.

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He claims his removal from office had “no legitimate education[al] purpose” and had “a chilling effect upon student expression in general.”  He seeks reinstatement to office, costs, damages for constitutional violations and emotional distress, and punitive damages “due to the intentional and outrageous nature of their actions”.He is represented by James Radford, of Decatur. The complaint does not elucidate how the school allegedly got access to Lack’s private email.  Source

What is the general consensus on this matter from the entire student body at Alpharetta High School? Rueben Lack, like many of our politicians, seem to think once they are elected, they can do as they please and push their agenda independent of what their constituents, or the student body in this case, wants? I know a bunch of kids who attend Alpharetta High School and I really have to take the time to get their take on this lawsuit and how they would feel about a same sex Prom Court. My guess is that some wouldn’t care, while some would.

I have a call in to the school to get the principal’s take on this lawsuit and what it means going forward. I suspect I will be referred to the Board of Education downtown, but what the heck, it’s worth a try.