Coming up this Saturday – great work by our friends in Prince William County! Loudoun County students are very much welcome and encouraged to attend, so spread the word:
“Shatter the Silence 2009”
First Annual Gay-Friendly Prince William County Prom
Manassas, VA, April 13, 2009: The Gay Straight Alliance of Prince William, Bull Run Unitarian Universalist Church, Equality Prince William, and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) are proud to jointly announce that “Shatter the Silence 2009,” the first gay-friendly prom to be hosted in Prince William County, is now selling tickets to the event online through PayPal and by mail!
Equality Virginia has generously donated 10 tickets to youth who are financially or otherwise unable to afford admission to the event. If you or someone you know is in this situation, please email Gail Dickert at dre@bruu.org for arrangements.
The prom will be held on April 18th from 5:30 pm to 11:00 pm at Bull Run Unitarian Universalists, at 9350 Main Street, Manassas, VA. Tickets are $20 per youth and are available for purchase here:
PayPal ticket sales are LIVE! We are encouraging youth to purchase tickets in advance to avoid lines or confusion at the door.
Please visit the following event pages for more information:
http://shatterthesilence2009.blogspot.com/
Shatter the Silence on Facebook
Shatter the Silence on MyspaceTo learn more about the important work of our partners please visit: www.glsen.org and www.bruu.org. All media inquiries should be directed to Bruce Roemmelt at coco@bruu.org.
Equality Prince William is a non-partisan organization formed to address equal rights issues for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered individuals (GLBT) from a local, Greater Prince William County perspective. We are committed to creating an organization that reflects the diversity of the Greater Prince William community and building relationships with business and civic groups, community leaders, and our elected leadership.
I’m just seeing this.
Is this a joke, please tell me this is a VERY BAD joke.
Or at least help me understand why you would want to have a seperate prom for gay students.
I would think the goal would be working toward and inclusive event at the local schools. Leaning of the PWC School system to make the gay kids feel safe and welcome seems to me to be the answer.
Having a seperate event just…well seperates us. That is NOT the goal.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. I agree 100% that the goal should be events at our public schools that are inclusive of everyone – but I don’t think that it’s an either/or choice.
First of all, this wasn’t a separate prom just for gay students, it was for GLBT and GLBT-friendly students. The intention isn’t to create a segregated event, it’s to create a safe space for like-minded students to be able to enjoy the prom experience without the presence of same sex couples being a controversy. I think they are entitled to that – to just be able to enjoy themselves and not have every moment of life be a battleground. There have been some courageous students who have demanded the right to take their dates to the “official” prom, some have taken their schools to court over it, and some have won. Some day soon, this won’t be an issue – but until then I wouldn’t want to deny any young person the experience of a prom where it isn’t an issue right now. Make sense?
Okay, I guess your answer makes sense, just as long as we don’t lose sight that the ultimate goal is having inclusive school experiences.